Up All Night Till The Sun
by xxredwineandambiencexx
Summary: After a hot and steamy weekend in Mexico with a gorgeous British stranger who went by his first name only, CIA agent Caroline Forbes is very surprised to learn that not only is Klaus Mikaelson one of the best agents on the MI6 roster, he's also got a terrifying reputation in the espionage community.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or it's characters. If I did, The Originals and Steroline would never have happened, Kol would be alive and happily causing mayhem somewhere, and Klaus and Caroline would be travelling the world and sexing it up.**

 **This is dedicated to Sophie, aka Justanotherfiveminutes, who patiently hammered out the plot and the circumstances of this story with me from the other side of the world. Thanks Sophie!**

* * *

 _ **Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, 2015**_

She's sipping at a margarita in the corner of the bar when she notices him enter. She has a good vantage point with her back to the wall, exits all covered and her weapon holstered at her thigh should she need to use it.

She'd been on a mission in Central Mexico, one that had ultimately been successful. She hadn't had much of a chance to see the country, and she had some time to kill before she had to be back in Langley for her debrief and her medical and psych eval, standard protocol for all CIA agents after a mission.

That, and she really just wanted to lie on a beach and sip cocktails and forget about the reality of her life for a while.

After much pleading, Alaric had allowed her a short stay in Mexico, promising to have a jet waiting for her at the _Los Cabos International Airport_ exactly 72 hours from now. If she was late, she needed to make it back to Virginia using her own money rather than the CIA's.

She'd very quickly agreed to Alaric's terms, and had immediately hired out a suite in one of the lavish beach front resorts that littered the _Playa El Medano,_ Cabo's main beach.

With it's impossibly blue water, Cabo was like heaven on earth, a nice change from the conditions that she'd been operating in on her mission towards the centre of the country.

Despite the stifling heat, the stranger moves with a kind of leonine grace, with absolute confidence despite the unfamiliar surroundings. With his blonde hair, broad shoulders, and crystalline blue eyes, he sticks out like a sore thumb, commanding attention with every movement that he makes.

He's seated at the bar seconds later, posture open and relaxed as he speaks in near fluent Spanish to the bartender, a bottle of Corona appearing in front of him in seconds.

She cocks her head to the side, letting her eyes roam over his body, taking in the broad shoulders, the well defined chest outlined by the simple white shirt that he's wearing. As her eyes slip down further, her eyebrows raise slightly at the obvious outline of a gun tucked into the waistband of his pants.

It's not obvious, but she's been trained to catalogue each weapon on every person that she comes across. She hopes for his sake that he's got his safety on.

As if sensing the weight of her gaze the stranger turns, eyes sweeping around the bar as he takes a sip of his drink. He's got the bottle to his lips when his eyes meet hers, and she sees him hesitate for a moment before taking another sip and smirking.

She taps her fingers against the wooden tabletop in front of her, unconsciously crossing and uncrossing her legs as she holds this man's gaze.

He's all heat and grace as he stands, the crowd parting before him, lost in their own conversations and problems.

He places his bottle on her table before depositing himself into the seat opposite her.

"Hello sweetheart."

She can't help but recoil at the endearment, because maybe she'd gotten this guy all wrong. All the same, she's somewhat intrigued by the obvious British accent, and wonders if he's here for business or pleasure.

"A little early for endearments don't you think?" She replies a little waspishly, toying with her glass absentmindedly as his lips pull back into a disarming smile.

He's even more handsome up close.

She's usually so confident in these sorts of situations, but he's thrown her for a loop and she's not sure how to play it.

"I don't know. You tell me." The man replies, running a hand through sandy blonde hair before fiddling with his collar.

Outside the light changes, the reflection of the setting sun off the water burnishing everything with an orange glow. It had perhaps been her favourite part of Mexico, the brilliant vibrancy of the sunrises and the sunsets.

"What's your name?" She asks suddenly, trying to trip him up, cataloguing his behaviour, his mannerisms.

"Klaus. And yours?" He turns the question back on her, watches as she lifts her hair away from the back of her neck, fanning herself.

"Very Germanic. And yet it seems that you were born and raised in England. I'm Caroline." She adds, tying her hair into a messy knot on top of her hair.

"Perceptive love." Klaus replies with another quick smile. "And of course you're American. What brings you to Mexico, Caroline? Business or pleasure?"

She takes her time to answer, a slow drag of her eyes up his body before she meets his gaze with a defiant tilt of her chin.

"Both I hope."

She stands, draining the rest of her margarita, pulling the spare keycard to her beach front suite out of her bra, placing it onto the table and flicking it towards him with a well manicured fingernail.

"Don't bother if you're not a good fuck." She says bluntly, meeting his eyes boldly.

Klaus raises an eyebrow but says nothing, leaning forward and picking up the keycard, slipping it into the pocket of his pants.

"Later, perhaps." He muses out loud, lips curling into an amused smile as he takes another sip of his beer.

She turns her back on him, the weight of his gaze heavy as she strides across the bar, pushing out into the cool afternoon air.

"Unbelievable Forbes." She mutters to herself as she lengthens her strides, making a beeline back to her resort.

She's still not quite sure what she's gotten herself into.

* * *

She absolutely does not wait around for this mysterious Klaus with the bright blue eyes and the banging bod when she gets back to her villa.

She likes to think she's better than that, hanging out for something that may or may not happen.

So she takes the time to pamper herself. She takes a long bath, shaves in all the appropriate places, slips into a slinky set of lingerie that may or may not be for his benefit.

She mixes herself a drink at the bar in her suite before she's slipping on a robe and stepping out onto the patio, infinity pool spread out before her.

The temptation to feel the coolness of the water against her skin is far too great, and she finds herself stripping, robe pooling at her feet and lingerie discarded. She sets her drink down at the edge of the pool before she's diving in completely naked, revelling in the privacy of her villa and the fact that she has this particular pool and stretch of beach all to herself.

When she surfaces, using both hands to slick her hair back from her head he's suddenly, unexplainably _there._

He's standing by the side of the pool, dressed in exactly the same outfit that he'd been in some hours before.

The humidity has plastered his hair to his forehead, but he still looks as delectable as he had been the first time she'd laid eyes on him. She didn't often get to have much fun in her line of work, but Klaus was something she could definitely work with.

"Fancy meeting you here." She quips lightly, gliding through the water until her back's hitting the opposite lip of the pool, nothing but beach and ocean behind her, illuminated by the last rays of the dying sun.

Klaus' lips quirk into a smile but he says nothing in reply, eyes instead drifting down to the pile of clothing at his feet.

His body language and the heat in his gaze is practically begging for an explanation, and she simply shrugs, keeping most of her body below the waterline.

"I was hot and needed to cool down. You're welcome to join me if you like. Clothing not required." She tells him, turning her back on him and draping her arms over the lip of the infinity pool.

She hears rather than sees him strip, the soft noise of his shirt hitting the patio floor, the clinking of a belt buckle as he shucks his pants, toes off his boots.

She still doesn't turn when she hears the splash to indicate that he's actually dived in and joined her, continues staring out towards the ocean as he surfaces and moves towards her.

She jumps slightly at the feeling of his hand running gently up her spine before curving around her shoulder, tugging gently yet insistently to get her to turn.

If he'd been nice to look at from a distance, Klaus was even more devastating up close, all lean, contained strength and power as beads of water shone like diamond drops on his bare chest.

He's half hard, hot and heavy against her thigh as he moves closer, caging her in against the side of the pool with strong arms.

He's close enough for her to see the water beading on his eyelashes, gaze dipped low as he hovers tantalisingly close to where she wants him to be.

"It must be my lucky day." Klaus murmurs, more to himself than to her before he's closing the distance between them.

His kiss is fire, heat, enough to burn her from the inside out, toes curling as she twines her arms around his neck, tugging absentmindedly at the black beaded necklace that she'd noticed earlier, peeking out from beneath the collar of his t shirt.

Klaus, hands roam teasingly as he pushes her further into the wall, and it's enough to have her gasping as his lips move from her neck to her throat, nipping gently at the sensitive skin there.

His cock nudges at her entrance, hot despite the coolness of the water. It's enough to have her wrenching herself away from him with a sharp intake of breath.

Klaus freezes, picking up on her obvious discomfort as he turns to gaze down his nose at her warily.

She presses a hot open mounthed kiss to his cheek before pushing him gently on the chest. Taking the hint, he takes a step away from her, giving her whatever space she needed.

Hmm. Hot, and a gentlemen. Certainly a rare breed of men these days.

"I totally do want to have sex with you, for the record." She begins without preamble as Klaus hides an bemused smile. "Just not in this pool." She adds, waving a dismissive hand to encompass the body of water surrounding them. "UTI's are never sexy."

She makes her way past Klaus, to the corner of the pool where the ladder is. Once she's back on dry land she pads over to where she'd left her drink discarded, bending over to pick it up and take a sip.

"I'm taking this inside, and I'm not really fussy about the surface or the position. You're welcome to join me if you're up for it." She says teasingly, hand sliding down her body to toy with her nipple.

Klaus' gaze darkens as her hand slides lower, resting on her belly as she drains the rest of her drink.

"Oh I'm definitely up for it love."

She tries not to roll her eyes at another endearment dropped from his lips. Instead, she simply turns her back on him, striding towards the entrance of the villa even as she hears the splashing of water behind her as he pushes himself out of the pool.

She's taken a grand total of two steps into the cool interior of the villa before he's upon her, hands gripping her around the hips as he lifts her, twisting them and stepping until her back slams up against the wall.

Almost unbidden her legs wrap around his waist, arms around his neck as he pauses, cock nudging at her entrance.

"Are you on…" He trails off helplessly as she rolls her eyes, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"Birth control. Move please."

He enters her with one smooth stroke, stilling when he's fully sheathed inside her, face pressed into her throat.

Needing that friction, she can't help but gasp out loud at the sensation of being filled, digging her heel into his arse to get him to move already.

He sets a rhythm that has her seeing stars, not able to do much in her current position pinned between his body and the wall. She just holds on, lips hot against his neck as he drives up into her heat, strength evident in his body as he keeps her in the one position.

As she very quickly discovers, Klaus is a _very_ good fuck. She comes once against the wall, milking his cock as she throws her head back with a sigh.

Klaus seemingly not done with her yet, grips her tightly around the waist, stepping backwards until he's able to sink down onto the couch, still hard inside her.

This time it's her turn to do the work, Klaus helping with a gentle grip around her waist as she rocks against him, lips meeting clumsily until she can feel herself building towards that blissful peak.

Klaus makes her come again twice before he spills inside her with a groan. With a wince she climbs off his lap, heading off towards the bathroom in search of a cloth to wipe themselves down.

Klaus is still splayed out on the couch when she returns, all loose limbed and pliant, eyes at half mast as he gazes at her.

"Some interesting bruises you have there." His gaze tracks over her chest and abdomen, taking in the graze on her shoulder from where she'd had to tuck and roll to escape a few assailants.

She says nothing, handing him the cloth as she eyes off the interesting bruises and scars littered across his own chest.

"The same could be said for you." She remarks pointedly as he wipes himself down before discarding the cloth on the side table.

Klaus smiles, and it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"We all have our secrets love."

And honestly, she couldn't agree with him more.

* * *

Klaus doesn't just stay the night, he stays for the entire weekend. They spend most of it in bed, the sex broken up only by the occasional arrival of room service or when one of them jump into the shower.

Klaus is good at getting her to open up, and she shares select tidbits about her life- the fact that she's an only child, that she's still friends with her childhood friends, that she likes pop music but hates rap, that she wants to travel the world one day.

In return he shares snippets of his own life. The fact that he is most definitely _not_ an only child, with five siblings to boot and a mother with a tendency to worry. He likes art, painting, and classical music, and he's a bit of a wine snob.

He doesn't mention his fluency with Spanish, and she chooses not to share that she's fluent in six languages either, Arabic included.

Things between them change, the more time they spend together, hours slipping away. The sex gets less urgent, less rough, more tender. Slower, and softer.

He takes her into his arms after, sweat cooling on their bodies, and she absentmindedly wonders to herself if this could be something more.

The hours tick down to her imminent departure time as she stares up at the ceiling on her last night here, sheets tucked into her chest as Klaus sleeps peacefully beside her, the heat from his body an odd sort of comfort.

She's scared of the conversation that she wants to have with him in the morning. She barely knows anything about him and yet she's drawn to him in a way that she hasn't been towards a man for a very long time.

She wants to see if it can be more, if there's even a possibility that there could be something there between them. Surely she's not imagining the hot spark of attraction between them, the undeniable chemistry that threatens to suffocate her.

With a sigh she rolls over, getting into a comfortable position until she's finally, blissfully able to fall asleep.

When she stirs the next morning, she regrets not leaving on the air conditioning overnight, because the heat is absolutely unbearable.

She blinks the sleep out of her eyes, back facing away from the centre of the bed as she sucks in a breath of fresh air. She could totally do this. She could hold the gaze of the hot guy she'd had mind-blowing sex with for the past 48 hours and totally have the coversation that she wanted to have with him.

She rolls onto her back, arm reaching out for him, expecting to find the warmth of his body, the smooth skin of his chest.

Instead, the sheets are cold, with nothing but the smell of sex and cologne to indicate that he'd ever been there.

She was alone.

* * *

 ** _Los Cabos International Airport_**

Upon seeing the small jet land on the tarmac, Klaus Mikaelson stands, bag slung over his shoulder and aviators perched on his nose to hide his most recognisable features.

Security just nods at him when he flashes his badge at them, striding out onto the hot tarmac, air shimmering with the heat.

His older brother Elijah hops down from the pilot's seat, lifting his sunglasses to give him a quick once-over.

"You look like hell." Elijah pronounces, genteel accent a stark contrast to how intimidating he seems to strangers.

A special forces soldier, Elijah had been involved in some of the most highly classified missions on both domestic and international soil. Apart from the useful ability of being able to fly all sorts of aircraft, Elijah was the person that you wanted watching your six when things went South.

"I'm fine." He replies tightly, handing over his bag for Elijah to sling into the back of the plane, taking the headset that is offered.

In reality he felt like absolute shit, sneaking out on Caroline like that when he'd wanted nothing more than to stay with her. Something had shifted between them during those 48 hours, and he was dying to find out if she felt the same way as he did.

But Elijah was on a tight schedule, and he knew that his brother would wait for nobody, least of all him.

He'd scribbled a note for her explaining that he'd had to leave quite suddenly on business, leaving his email address down the bottom of the note and adding that he would love to hear from her whenever she was ready to get in touch with him.

He hoped that she'd see the note before she left Mexico.

He settles into the passenger seat of the small plane, strapping himself in as Elijah starts the engines once more, flipping the many switches in the cockpit to begin the pre flight checks.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Elijah asks after he's finished communicating with the air traffic controller, cleared for take off and taxiing into position.

He just sighs, running a hand through his hair, watching as the coastline sinks away beneath the wheels of the plane as they ascend.

"No, I don't."

* * *

 **AN: Hello all! *waves*. So I know it took awhile, but didn't I promise you guys that I'd get around to reworking my Spies AU eventually? As much as I enjoyed my foray into the genre, I felt like it wasn't my best work, which isn't fair to you guys.**

 **I'm hoping that you'll enjoy this version a lot more, just like you did with Billion Lights.**

 **Big thank you to Sophie for being an excellent sounding board as I bounced ideas off her via Skype. You're a star!**

 **Hope you enjoy, and looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this new and improved story.**

 **Next chapter we'll be seeing more of Katherine and Caroline in the present day as she comes face to face with the person that she's done her very best to forget.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or it's characters. If I did, The Originals and Steroline would never have happened, Kol would be permanently alive and happily causing mayhem somewhere, and Klaus and Caroline would be travelling the world and sexing it up.**

* * *

 _ **CIA Headquarters: Langley, Virginia- 2017**_

"Sloppy." Katherine admonishes, whacking her on her left shoulder with her Escrima stick as she attempts to dodge out of the way.

"Sorry." She replies, slightly out of breath as their sticks clack together once, twice, three times.

"Don't apologise." Katherine snaps, one of her sticks flying right towards her face. "Do better."

Caroline lets herself fall into the rhythm of the fight as they often do, both of them stalking each others footsteps as they come together and whirl apart in a violent, blinding tempo.

She eyes Katherine off carefully, the other woman as tense as a coiled viper waiting to strike. An apt description of Katherine, if ever there was one.

Katherine's curly dark hair is pulled back into a single, long braid at the back of her neck, and in an instant she sees her opening.

They come together once more, sticks flying towards body parts, each trying to get the edge over the other.

They're fairly evenly matched, even if Katherine had been doing it for just a little bit longer than her. She was a quick study, had the ability to absorb things quickly. It's what has kept her alive in the field for all these years, when usually there's a short life expectancy in their realm of work.

Katherine whirls, her braid flying off her shoulder as she does so. Caroline steps under the Escrima stick that had been heading straight for her throat and grabs Katherine's braid, pulling hard enough to yank the other woman to the floor.

Katherine lands hard, sticks clattering out of her hands as her head connects with the training mat.

Caroline sucks in some much needed air as she regards the other woman, who's staring at her through a narrowed gaze. If looks could kill she'd be dead a million times over right now.

But instead of being pissed off at her, Katherine instead lets a slow smile creep across her face. It's equal parts terrifying and thrilling, because maybe she's actually done something right.

"Nice move Forbes. Dirty, but you can hardly expect someone in the field to play by the rules."

"I thought you were going to murder me." Caroline replies honestly, holding out a hand for Katherine, pulling her up from the mats.

"You're learning. I can't fault you for that."

There were many names for Katerina Petrova. That Bitch, the Bulgarian Widow, The Cavalry. But to her friends and allies, she was simply Katherine Pierce.

Before she'd worked for the CIA, Katherine had worked in Bulgarian intelligence, carving up a bloody path across most of Europe, quickly building up a somewhat terrifying reputation for herself.

Katherine was prickly and at times a stone cold bitch, but had also mentored her throughout her career. She credited most of her training to Katherine, and had honestly lost count of the amount of scrapes that Katherine had gotten her out of out in the field.

The story of why she came to work for the CIA is shrouded in mystery, and she's never found out the real reason why.

Katherine glances down at her watch, tucking her Escrima sticks under her arm.

"We should probably call time on this one. Nice work today Forbes."

She smiles at that, because Katherine giving out a compliment was rare enough as is.

Katherine straightens as they head to the edge of the mats where their gym bags are all in a pile, reaching for a towel and slinging it around her neck.

"Did you hear that MI6 is coming to visit today? Apparently Alaric is having a meeting with them in a little while."

She raises an eyebrow at that as she takes a swig from her water bottle, because that was certainly unexpected.

Intelligence organisations like the CIA and MI6 definitely colluded with each other, sharing information and the like. But for either organisation to willingly visit the other was almost unheard of.

They did their best not to meddle in each other's missions, even if their paths occasionally did cross out in the field.

"Any theories?" She asks of Katherine, who lifts one shoulder in a shrug as she slings her gym bag over her shoulder.

"Unsure. It's all a little hush hush. The only reason I knew was because I took a peek at Alaric's calendar while I was in his office the other day."

Caroline groans, because Katherine _really_ needed to stop doing shit like that.

"Kat, not cool and you know it. Anyway, I'm sure we'll find out regardless. Come on. I still have to find a dress for the gala tonight and the rest of my schedule is clear for the day. You coming?"

Katherine falls into step beside her, arm slung around her shoulders and sultry grin creeping across her face.

"Lead the way Forbes."

* * *

"I still don't understand why we're here." Klaus grumbles to his older brother as they push their way through the doors of the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

Kol has stopped to stare open mouthed at the lavish foyer, and he can't help but sigh as he reaches out and bodily hauls Kol after them.

They all stop for the security guards who wave wands over their body, checking for any concealed weapons apart from the ones that they'd already declared ahead of time.

Once they're done, Elijah adjusts the cuffs of his Armani suit before turning to face his two younger brothers.

"We are here Niklaus because Tatia Petrova has gone dark, and the mission has clearly become too much for us to handle. Kol, stop gaping, it doesn't become you." Elijah turns his dark gaze from Klaus to Kol.

Kol, thoroughly admonished, rolls his eyes and shoves his hands into the pocket of his own suit. It's not Armani like Elijah's but the cut and cloth are still finely made, evidence of the money that the Mikaelson family were made of.

"Forgive me my curiosity _brother._ " Kol replies disdainfully.

"Kol, I would be slightly less concerned had I not suspected you were working out the quickest way to access the weapons section of this building. Do not embarrass us while you are here." Elijah hisses towards Kol, who has the good sense to look apologetic.

Klaus just presses his lips together in amusement, falling into step beside Elijah as Kol reluctantly trails behind.

"Well they _are_ trialling a new version of C4…" Kol mumbles under his breath, finally matching his stride to Elijah's, ignoring the somewhat curious looks that they're getting from various CIA staffers.

He knows that they make a formidable trio, both in the field and out of it. With Elijah's special forces his training, Kol's expertise in munitions, and his ability to get the job done no matter how bloody, they'd quickly garnered a reputation for being the best, and the most effective in the espionage community.

Elijah pushes the call button for the elevator, and out of the corner of his eye he sees a flash of golden blonde. He turns as they pile into the elevator car, and he stiffens as he hears a very familiar, melodious laugh float across the foyer.

It couldn't be…

Stopping the doors from closing, he leans bodily out of the elevator, eyes tracking around the wide foyer for the source of his suspicions.

It's with a growl of frustration that he realises he can only see the back of her as she strolls across the foyer, another taller, brunette woman beside her.

And to be honest, he doesn't know for certain that it's _her._

 _Caroline._

 _"_ Are you quite alright Niklaus?" Elijah questions in a low voice as he turns back towards his brothers.

Elijah is leaning up against the back wall of the elevator, feet crossed at the ankle and looking the very image of poised and unbothered by the fact that they're currently running ten minutes late for a meeting with the director of the CIA.

"You look like you've seen a ghost Nik. Could it be the ghost of one night stand's past?" Kol quips with a smile to himself, probably mentally hi fiving himself for the opportune joke at his brother's expense.

"I'm fine." He replies stiffly, fiddling with his tie, stepping back and letting the doors slide shut. "Let's just get this over and done with."

Elijah raises his eyebrow at the sudden change in his brother's attitude, but perhaps wisely chooses to say nothing more on the matter.

Kol however, looks as if he's storing this away to revisit later, and Klaus begins to think of ways to creatively murder his brother if he ends up crossing a line.

With a ding, the doors open at the fifth level, and Elijah gestures for his brother's to lead the way.

Kol bounds forward, only for Klaus to wrench him backwards by his shoulder, the youngest Mikaelson brother yelping in consternation.

"Perhaps we should let Elijah do the talking, wouldn't you agree Kol?" He remarks smoothly as Kol agrees with a reluctant sigh.

The Director's assistant is eyeing them off curiously and not without a little heat in her gaze. When her eyes settle on Elijah she shifts slightly in her seat, colour blooming in her cheeks.

It still amazed him the effect that the seemingly stuffy Elijah had on women.

"Hello. We have an appointment with Director Saltzman." Elijah begins politely, planting his hands on the desk and leaning forward, just stopping himself short of invading the girl's personal space.

It was both an intimidation technique and a seductive one, with the aim being ultimately to get exactly what he wants, when he wants it, in the most convenient manner possible.

The assistant blinks up at Elijah for a moment, half in a daze before collecting herself and remembering her professionalism.

"You must be the Mikaelson brothers. Of course, gentlemen, go right through. Director Saltzman is expecting you."

Elijah just throws a smirk at them over his shoulder.

"Shall we gentlemen?"

* * *

 **"** Remind me again why we're here? God I hate these things." Caroline grumbles under her breath as she hitches up the skirt of her Zuhair Murad couture gown as she and Katherine ascend the steps to the lavish city hall.

She feels like a old school movie star, with the silver sequin overlay in a chequered pattern over the gauzy skirt, her hair thrown up in an elegant top knot, and some burgundy lipstick currently coating her lips.

Katherine just takes a swig of her flask before handing it over.

"Bottoms up Forbes. You're here to support Elena as you very well know."

She takes a sip of the flask, nose screwing up delicately at the bitterness of the alcohol. She forces it down her throat, trying not to splutter and make her eyes water lest she ruin her mascara.

"God why did she have to get engaged to that prick?" She murmurs, more to herself than Katherine, who simply flips her skirt aside, revealing miles of tanned, toned leg as she tucks the flask back into where it was previously strapped to her thigh.

Katherine is dressed in a daring, scarlet red, and looks like a seductress sent from hell itself to torment the soul of every man in the building tonight.

'The prick' in question is Damon Salvatore, senator and all around arrogant asshole. But for some inconceivable reason, he is capable of loving, and has been utterly faithful to her best friend since he first laid eyes on her, eschewing all other women that had previously been in his life.

And as much as she hated to admit it, Damon and Elena were good together. Elena had mellowed out Damon over the years, and at times Caroline had even learnt to tolerate him.

And now with their recent engagement being splashed all over the papers, Elena had practically begged her to come tonight to support her given the current scrutiny from the press. She had agreed once she found out that Katherine had also been invited, along with a few of her other CIA associates.

Katherine as it turns out, had come from old money, and had donated substantial amounts of money to the foundation that Damon chaired, a charity designed to help get kids off the streets.

"She's young, and she's in love. Just be happy for her and try not to dwell too much on it." Katherine finally replies, shrugging out of her coat and handing it to one of the ushers. They joint he steady stream of guests forming a line to greet Damon and Elena before being swept off into the ballroom.

They only have to wait a few monents, and then they're in front of the Senator himself. Damon grins at them, bright blue eyes twinkling.

"Evening Forbes, Pierce. Try not to blow anything up tonight okay? Enjoy, bye." Damon says quickly, ushering them towards Elena before either of them can respond to his teasing statement.

She just rolls her eyes, air kissing each of Elena's cheeks as the two of them clasp hands.

"Care you look gorgeous." Elena pronounces, giving her a quick once over. "Thanks for coming." Elena squeezes her hand before turning to face Katherine.

She just watches on in amusement as the two cousins greet each other somewhat awkwardly before Katherine is moving to stand next to her.

"I'll come and find you later." Elena promises, giving her a smile and a wave before turning to the next guest waiting to greet her.

She's all smiles and charm and Caroline has to marvel at the transformation in her oldest friend, the healthy dose of confidence that Damon had given her. Okay, so maybe there was something positive about Damon Salvatore.

"Come on Forbes. Let's go take advantage of that open bar hmm?"

She laughs, letting Katherine pull her further into the ballroom and the milling crowd.

"Now I like the sound of that."

* * *

She's managed to catch up with most of her friends, which makes her happy given how little time she usually has to be social outside of work. Bonnie Bennett had put in a rare appearance, looking resplendent in a floor length black gown. She'd been off at university doing a post doc in Tulane, close to New Orleans, and she'd honest to god missed her so much.

Stefan Salvatore had also made an appearance a little further into the night, looking sharp in a Tom Ford tuxedo, hair slicked back from his forehead. Much to her delight he'd also introduced her to his girlfriend Valerie, a sweet if not timid girl that made him smile much more than she was used to seeing.

Alaric had crossed paths with her and Katherine while they were halfway through a second round of dirty martinis, asking them both to stop by his office in the morning, stating that he had something to brief them in on before moving past them into the crowd to schmooze with the elite of Virginian society.

As the director of the CIA, his presence at these sorts of events were practically expected, no matter how much he hated them.

It's when Katherine has left her for a bathroom break that she feels the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She's being watched, and she tries to stop her body from stiffening in response.

Bringing her martini glass to her lips, she tilts her head slightly to the side, eyes training around the ballroom before landing on a _very_ familiar figure.

She almost spills her drink all over her skirt.

Because it's _Klaus._

As in Klaus, the guy that she'd spent the most amazing weekend with two years ago, the guy that she'd taken so long to get over afterwards.

The guy that had left her high and dry without a word of goodbye. That Klaus.

His gaze is burning into her, eyes dark as he leans up against a marbled pillar, drink in one hand and the other tucked into the pocket of his tailored suit pants.

He looks like sin in a tuxedo, bow tie knotted at his neck, hair swept artfully back from his forehead.

What the hell was Klaus doing here of all places?

Klaus raises an eyebrow as his eyes flare imperceptibly at the familiarity of her, eyes roving lazily over her body, taking in every inch of her from head to toe.

With an easy movement he pushes off from the pillar, drink brought to his lips as his progress attracts the attention of more than a few women in the room.

There's something predatory about his gait, the way he practically stalks towards her across the room, looking totally at ease in another unfamiliar situation for him, because she's _never_ seen him at one of those events, ever.

Klaus steps up next to her as she stands rooted to the spot, unable to move even if she wanted to. His elbow is resting against the bar as he swirls his glass absentmindedly in his hand.

His lips curl into an infuriating smile.

"Hello Caroline."

She swallows audibly, wishing that she'd had time to drink at least one more dirty martini.

"Klaus."

* * *

Time takes on a strange quality as Klaus drains the rest of his drink, setting the glass on the bar before turning back to her.

"Long time no see."

He's all flirtatious smiles and open body language, and is this guy actually being serious enough to think that he can just pick up where they left off?

"I'd rather not talk about it actually." She replies with a sniff, taking in his surprised reaction before he hastily rearranges his expression into a more passive one.

"Very well then. Would you do me the honour?" He asks instead, tilting his head towards the dance floor, where couples are already swaying back and forth to the live jazz band that had struck up a tune.

"Fine." She says stiffly, draining the rest of her martini and placing her hand in his outstretched one.

Internal her is probably really wanting to punch herself in the face right about now, because what the hell was she getting herself into?

Once Klaus determines that they're adequately placed in the crowd twirls her before pulling her closer into his body, hand drifting down towards her waist, grip surprisingly appropriate.

"So. Do you have a last name, _Klaus?_ " She asks pointedly, avoiding his gaze as his eyes flick towards her in surprise.

She instead looks over his left shoulder, eyes landing on Damon and Elena dancing together, hands clasped between their bodies and heads bent in quiet conversation. It's oddly sweet, to see Damon like this with her.

"Mikaelson. I presume you're familiar with the surname." Klaus responds just as carefully, waiting for her inevitable reaction.

 _Holy shit._

She hadn't been in the espionage community for long, but even she had heard of the Mikaelson Triad, even if she'd never really seen pictures of them or had crossed paths with them before. Or so she'd thought.

The trio of brothers were the stuff of nightmares in the espionage community, operating with a ruthless efficiency that was enough to scare off all but the most hardened of criminals.

Elijah was the oldest, a British SAS trained soldier that was more often than not working for MI6 as opposed to the British army. She'd heard whispers of the sorts of training that the SAS put their potential recruits through out in the Breacon Beacons, and knew that if Elijah had managed to pass that, he was the sort of person that you definitely did not want to fuck around with.

Next came Kol Mikaelson, a munitions expert and the youngest of the Mikaelson trio. Kol was the brains behind the operations, the shadow that ran in the background, often causing just as much damage as his brothers did, if not more on some occasions. Kol had a knack for inventions, and some of his stuff had been patented for use, and came at an obscenely expensive price.

And then of course, there was…

"Niklaus Mikaelson. As in Klaus. God I'm so stupid." She says to herself, Klaus cocking his head to the side in bemusement. "Of course you're MI6. I suspected when we met, but…"

"You wanted to forget. For awhile." Klaus finishes for her as she falls silent, trying not to show just how accurately he'd guessed her thoughts. "Given that you were undoubtedly just finishing up a mission for the CIA."

It scares her a little, how accurately he'd managed to nail down exactly what she did for a living.

"What are you doing here Klaus?" She asks after a moment, eyes sweeping around the ballroom as Klaus moves closer to her, hand sliding from her waist to the small of her back.

"Official business." He whispers, breath hot against the side of her neck. "It seems that MI6 requires the assistance of the CIA."

She stiffens at that, sucking in a breath as she considers what that could possibly mean for her and Katherine.

"Of course, seeing you here was just a pleasant surprise." He continues smoothly, a charming smile in place as they sway back and forth.

"There you are Forbes, I thought you'd done a runner on me." Katherine remarks lightly, sweeping into place beside them, gazing up at Klaus in surprise. "Hello Nik. How do the two of you know each other?" Katherine asks in confusion, gaze flicking between the two of them curiously.

 _Nik?_ How many names does this guy have?

Klaus drops her hand immediately, bending down to press a careful kiss to Katherine's cheek, careful not to overstep his boundaries.

"Katerina." Klaus practically purrs in response, making Caroline arch a single eyebrow. "What a delight to see you again."

Katherine rolls her eyes, seemingly unimpressed by Klaus' apparent attempts at charm.

"I wish I could say the same Mikaelson. Are your brothers here with you? The three of you do have an annoying habit of all going where one goes." Katherine crosses her arms over her chest, tapping a heeled foot against the dance floor.

She's frozen to the spot, unable to move lest she draw attention to herself as Klaus squares off against Katherine.

"Charming as always Katerina. Elijah is with Director Saltzman, as I'm sure you've already used your unparalleled skills of observation to figure out. Kol is… around somewhere. And to answer your previous question, Caroline and I have crossed paths in the past."

She can almost see the wheels turning in Katherine's head as she stares at Klaus, putting two and two together as the penny drops, eyes widening as realisation sets in over what Klaus had just insinuated.

"Oh this is an interesting development." Katherine purses her lips, gaze turning towards her. "We'll be having words later Forbes."

She sees that as her opportunity to make her exit, because that was a conversation that she so did not want to be having with Katherine Pierce of all people.

Klaus just masks a chuckle as Katherine turns to him with a somewhat chilling stare.

"Actually I think I've had enough schmoozing for one night. I'll see you tomorrow Kat. Klaus." She farewells the both of them with a curt nod before drawing herself up to her full height, gathering her skirts in both hands and sweeping out of the ballroom.

She doesn't look back as she goes to hail a cab.

* * *

He feels rather than sees Kol sidle up next to him, drink in hand, hair ruffled artfully.

"What did you do to piss off the blonde one? She looks like a tasty thing." Kol pronounces with relish, taking a sip of his whisky.

He doesn't turn to stare at his brother, instead leans in close to Kol, fingers digging into his shoulder.

"Say another word, and I'll tear out your liver."

He waits long enough to feel Kol flinch at his words before he turns on his heel, stalking away from his little brother.

He needed another drink after what he'd learned tonight.

* * *

 **AN: And here's Chapter 2! The good news is, that this story is flowing much nicer than the previous version was. I have a somewhat clearer idea of how I'd like the story to go, as well as what the dynamics between the characters will be.**

 **I've also really enjoyed writing the Mikaelson brothers this time around, as well as how they interact with each other. I just had to add in that last bit between Kol and Klaus ;)**

 **And of course, there'll be plenty of Kol goodness in this one, because we all know just how much I love Kol.**

 **Can't wait to hear your thoughts after Klaus and Caroline have come face to face for the first time in two years.**

 **On another note, if you haven't already seen it, you have to go see Lion (the movie). I saw it today and apart from the fact that half of it was based in Australia, Dev Patel's performance in this was just stunning. I've got my fingers and toes crossed for Dev to take out the Oscar for best supporting actor, because he deserves it for this one.**

 **See you on the other side, and don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or it's characters. If I did, The Originals and Steroline would never have happened, Kol would be alive and happily causing mayhem somewhere, and Klaus and Caroline would be travelling the world and sexing it up.**

* * *

She's on the shooting range just finishing up on a round when Enzo steps up beside her, motioning with his hands until she pulls her earmuffs from her ears, slamming her fist over the button to bring the paper target closer to her.

The whirring of the machinery clicking into gear is reassuring as she flicks the safety on and holsters her weapon, squinting at the target as Enzo lets out a low whistle at the accuracy of her shooting.

"Nice one Forbes."

She smiles, pleased with herself. It had been Katherine that had recommended her for sniper training, and although she'd been requested as a loan by Special Forces on more than a few occasions, she knew that she didn't have the stomach to be able to complete a tour of duty out in Iraq or Afghanistan, and had respectfully declined.

To make up for it, she'd offered them intelligence in other ways, had offered her skills as translator, albeit from a distance. She was relatively fluent in Arabic, and knew some of the dialects quite well, her fascination of the language having begun at quite a young age thanks to her father.

"Thanks. What's up?" She asks Enzo, slinging her ear muffs around her neck and taking the proffered coffee that he's holding out for her.

The first sip of the latte is like heaven in a cup, and she stops herself from letting out a soft moan as Enzo pulls her to the edge of the range, noise still deafening around them.

"What's up?" She repeats over the constant bang of other agents, practicing their shot or just having a friendly competition with their coworkers.

Instead of replying, Enzo just takes her by the arm, leading her out of the range and into a quieter corridor.

"Sorry gorgeous." He begins as she falls into step beside him. "And truthfully, I'm trying to stop Katherine from tracking you down after last night. I'm sure an interrogation is the last thing you need."

Enzo was only one of two people who knew about her weekend with the mysterious stranger known only as Klaus.

"You were there last night?" She asks Enzo, because she honestly didn't see him, and she was there for a couple of hours before making her hasty getaway.

"I put in a brief appearance. Brief enough to know that the way that you reacted to Niklaus Mikaelson was not a normal one. I'm not stupid Caroline, I can put two and two together."

She just sighs, running a hand through her hair as they round a corner.

"I know you're not. One hell of a coincidence, isn't it?"

Enzo lets out a chuckle.

"Of all the gin joints in the world…" He trails off at the reference, tucking his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. "You and Klaus Mikaelson." He adds with a low whistle.

"What do you know about him? You were at MI6 for a few years before you came over here, weren't you?"

Enzo lifts his shoulders into a half shrug.

"Honestly gorgeous, not a whole lot. I went through training and intake with Kol Mikaelson. His older brothers were already well established in the field by the time I became a field agent. They worked with each other, never anyone else. Bit snobby of them, really."

She presses her lips together in a thin line before taking another sip of her coffee.

"Okay, so he remains as mysterious as ever, apart from the fact that he's got quite a reputation. How old do you think he is, if you had to guess?"

"Well Kol's 25, same as you and I. If i had to hazard a guess, I'd put Elijah at 30 and Klaus at 27. They've both been around for a long time, they're practically legends in their own right. Did he say anything to you, about what happened in Mexico?"

"He mentioned it, but I didn't give him the chance to talk about it. What's done is done, and it's in the past."

Enzo gives her an incredulous glance as they pause before the bank of elevators.

"You almost had me convinced gorgeous."

She doesn't meet his gaze as the elevator doors open.

"Yeah, well honestly? After his sudden reappearance in my life, I think I'm still trying to convince myself."

* * *

She pauses at the door to the training room, eyes immediately drawn to the mats in the centre where she and Katherine usually spar. Instead of the tall, dark, lean figure of Katherine Pierce that awaits her, the mats are otherwise occupied.

Klaus and one of his brothers are trading punches and kicks at an alarming rate, already drawing a crowd of onlookers as they duck and weave around each other.

There's something graceful about the way that the two brothers move, a deadly choreography that will undoubtedly end with one walking away and the other covered in bruises.

It's as much a match of will as it is strength, both brothers concentrating on their opponent with an almost scary amount of focus, and she just knows that it'll be a slip up that brings about an end to this particular match.

A low whistle draws her gaze to the wall, where Katherine is leaning up against it next to another dark haired man. He's unfamiliar, and she attracts his attention as she draws closer to the pair.

"Kol Mikaelson." The other man introduces himself before she can even think to do so herself, holding out a hand for her to shake. "I've heard a lot about you Caroline."

She takes his had briefly, slotting into place beside him as she returns her gaze to the fight.

"You're not going to have a go?" She asks Kol, who simply snorts, producing an apple seemingly from thin air and taking a bite.

"Unlike my two older brothers, I don't feel the need to compensate by getting sweaty and bruised. Although on a good day I could probably take Nik if it came down to it."

She raises an eyebrow, slightly impressed at that. Kol honestly didn't look like much to look at strength wise, but then again it was always the unassuming ones that you had to watch out for. Given the reputation of both Elijah and Klaus, she had no doubt that Kol was terrifying in his own right.

"Fancy a spar a bit later?" Katherine asks Kol, who nods, making a soft noise of agreement.

A loud slam echoes around the training room, and she turns just in time to see Klaus on the ground, his brother no doubt having bodily thrown him onto his back. Elijah, she deduces, given that Kol is standing right next to her.

"Ooh that was dirty." Kol murmurs just loud enough for them to hear, wicked smile on his face as Elijah pins Klaus down with nothing more than his forearm and a well placed knee.

"Do you yield?" Elijah asks, barely breaking a sweat, not even sounding like he'd just been going at it with his brother for the past fifteen minutes or so.

"I yield." Klaus replies a little sullenly, taking the hand that Elijah offers him and pulling himself to his feet.

The audience disperses in the next moment, agents going back to their own training or rushing off to meetings.

Elijah steps in close to Klaus, clapping a hand on his shoulder and saying something to him that's too low for them to hear. Klaus frowns, but nods in agreement, smile creeping across his face as he gives Elijah a playful shove.

Elijah steps away from the mats, heading straight for them as Klaus follows, slinging a towel around his neck.

"Someone's improved it would seem." Katherine directs this towards Elijah, an odd sort of smile on her face as he meets her gaze, the ghost of a smile flitting across his face.

"Katerina." Is all he says before stepping forward and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Much to her surprise, Katherine _allows it._

 _"_ Long time no see Lijah. What brings the three of you to this neck of the woods?"

"Purely business I'm afraid." Elijah replies smoothly before turning to her. "You must be Caroline, please forgive me for my rudeness. Elijah Mikaelson, and this is my brother Klaus. I see that you've already met Kol."

"Pleasure. As it happens Klaus and I are previously acquainted." She nods towards Klaus, who just raises an eyebrow but says nothing as Elijah and Katherine exchange a glance.

"How fortuitous." Elijah finally remarks, bending down to sling his gym bag over his shoulder. "We should be going. Will you be joining us later for the mission briefing?"

"Got the invitation this morning." Katherine confirms as Kol drifts towards his brothers. "Caroline and I will both be there."

"Good. Good. We'd best be off then. A pleasure as always, Katerina. Caroline." Elijah nods stiffly at her before turning on his heel, brothers falling into step behind him.

Katherine just watches them go, head cocked to the side as the door to the training room slams shut behind them.

"Why does he call you Katerina?" She asks of Katherine, who turns a dark gaze on her for a long moment.

"That my friend, is a story for another day. Preferably told along with a bottle of expensive vodka and some shot glasses. But what I'm more interested in is the previous acquaintance between you and the one and only Klaus Mikaelson."

"Oh god, not this again." She groans, hiding her face in her hands as Katherine pulls her towards the exit. "Trust me, I've already had this very same conversation with Enzo."

"I'd be insulted, but it's Enzo." Katherine steers her with her hands on her shoulders, pushing her out into the corridor. "Let's get some juice."

She lets Katherine lead the way out into the bright sunlight, blinking to clear the dark spots from her vision as her eyes adjust.

It's only when they're in line to grab a juice does Katherine begin speaking again.

"Niklaus, as in Klaus right? The guy from Mexico that you had mind-blowing sex with for an entire weekend and then never saw or heard from him again?"

The barista hands their orders over as they pay, already long ago memorised their order down to just how much syrup each of them actually likes in their cups.

"Thanks Vicki." Katherine actually cracks a smile for the barista, who just lifts a hand in farewell as they exit the shop.

"Yep, that's the one. Imagine my surprise when he showed up at Damon's function last night, and I found out he was part of the Mikaelson triad. All of whom you already seem very well acquainted with." She remarks pointedly as Katherine frowns a little before taking a sip of her coffee.

"What aren't you telling me?" She asks a few seconds later as Katherine pulls her over to an abandoned park bench.

They're the only people around in the courtyard, and Katherine drops her voice low as she begins to speak.

"Caroline, Klaus Mikaelson is the person that does the dirty work that no one else wants to do. I'm talking contract kills, assassinations, morally questionable shit that would get him in a lot of trouble if he didn't operate under the employ of MI6."

"What sort of morally questionable stuff?" She murmurs, taking a sip of her own coffee as Katherine runs a hand through her curly hair.

"Toppling governments, dismantling drug cartels, infiltrating human trafficking rings. Not always done using the most conventional of methods. His kill count is through the roof, and he doesn't seem to feel any remorse for any of it. Which is what scares me about him."

Her blood runs cold at the casual summary of Klaus and his character, done by someone incredibly close to her who sounded like she spoke from experience. She didn't prod further, instead rested against the bench with a quick exhale.

"Look I know it's probably the last thing you wanted to hear, but I thought you should know what you're getting yourself into. Klaus is charming, yes. But he's also someone that you don't want to cross. That you don't want to get entangled with. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

This version of Klaus seemed so far away from the one that she'd met in Mexico, so charming with the slightest hint of arrogance. He had remained a gentlemen the entire time, apart from when he'd fled with nary a word of goodbye of course.

It was hard to believe that the Klaus she met and the Klaus that Katherine was describing were one and the same.

"Yeah I get it. And thanks, for the warning."

Katherine gently nudges her with an elbow.

"Hey, it's been my job to keep you alive for all this time. If that means steering you away from the bad guys, then I'll happily take on that role as well."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." She tells Katherine honestly, taking a loud sip of her juice.

Katherine glances down at her watch, getting to her feet.

"Come on then Forbes. I've got a meeting and then we've got that mission briefing later. Don't you have a pile of paperwork you need to get through today?" Katherine asks, arching a single eyebrow.

She lets out a soft groan at the thought as Katherine pulls her to her feet, beginning the long walk back to HQ.

"I was hoping you'd forgotten about that."

* * *

"How nice of you to join us Caroline." Alaric turns away from the screen, pinning his gaze on her as she slides into a seat next to Katherine.

"Sorry Ric. Got caught up with some paperwork." She mumbles as a way of reply as Alaric just sighs, clasping his hands behind his back as he turns to face the room.

Katherine snorts, but says nothing more as Ric throws her an admonishing glance.

"I believe that introductions are hardly necessary, given that everyone here already seems to be acquainted." He pronounces with a raised eyebrow. "I'd love to know exactly how that happened."

From across the table, Kol Mikaelson smirks at her. She just rolls her eyes, pulling her information packet towards her and flipping the cover open.

She can feel Klaus' eyes on her, doesn't meet his gaze as she turns back towards Alaric and the screen.

"Katerina and I have a long history." Elijah supplies as Alaric glances between the two of them, pausing before speaking again.

"Now that we're all here, I think that Elijah can fill us in on the mission parameters and requirements." Alaric motions to Elijah, who stands in a single, smooth movement, adjusting the suit of his jacket as he strides over to the front of the room.

He's all deadly grace and quietly contained strength, eerily similar to his brother in that aspect. But there's something more that bubbles beneath the surface with Elijah. Something dark that sits heavy in his brown eyes.

"Thank you Director Saltzman." He begins respectfully with a nod before turning to address her and Katherine directly.

"As some background information, we've been looking into the activities of one of our politicians back home, a man by the name of Lucien Castle. While we were gathering intelligence and building a case against him, we discovered that he had some rather interesting connections with one of your own."

A picture flashes upon the screen and she raises an eyebrow in surprise, leaning forward as Katherine makes a soft noise under her breath.

Mason Lockwood was a senator and a benefactor of the CIA, making monetary donations every now and again, almost singlehandedly funding their R & D department.

Coming from a rich family in the South, his nephew, Tyler Lockwood, had recently been killed while serving with the Marines over in Iraq. Despite the tragedy that had suddenly befallen the family, Mason was still a public figure, still in support of the CIA.

"Mason Lockwood? Are you certain?" Katherine asks before she can get around to doing so herself, because if anyone had a squeaky clean background when it came to politics, it was Mason Lockwood.

The man was practically a saint, any previous background checks having dug up nothing more than a few late repayments on a credit card when he was younger. No skeletons in the closet, no dark family secrets.

"We were surprised as well, given his reputation." Klaus chimes in, commanding the attention of the room. "But the coincidences are striking, once you piece everything together."

"For the record, we haven't yet found any illegal dealings between the two. Not yet, anyway. We have analysts working around the clock trying to dig up something that we can use. But there's certainly enough there for us to continue investigating the links between him and Castle." Elijah takes over from his brother, arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't like this." She remarks, exchanging a glance with Katherine who nods in agreement. "Mason Lockwood is a friend to the CIA, and an open and public investigation against him is going to cause a lot of controversy, not to mention it's going to completely destroy our reputation. Ric, are you seriously entertaining this?" She asks, turning to Alaric who just sighs, steepling his fingers together.

"One of our agents has gone dark." Klaus states suddenly as everyone swivels towards him once more.

Kol slumps back in his chair at this pronouncement, Elijah just sighing at his brother's outburst.

Well that certainly changed things.

"Please explain what you mean by dark." Katherine taps her manicured fingers against the table top as she stares Klaus down.

To his credit, he doesn't flinch under the intensity of her gaze.

"Once our suspicions about Mason Lockwood were confirmed, we had an agent embedded with his people, a woman by the name of Tatia Petrova. She was acting as his personal assistant, feeding intel to us at the same time. About a week ago, all communication ceased. She's been seen in public with him since, so we know that she's still alive, but she's changed her number and has blocked communication."

"Efforts to raise her or to establish contact with her have proven futile. For all intents and purposes, it's like she was never under the employ of MI6." Elijah fiddles with the cuffs of his jackets.

"So you need help extracting one of your agents?" Katherine asks slowly as all three brothers turn to face her.

"Not quite." Elijah replies. "For the most part we need you to help us with the next stage of this operation, which is finding something definitive to use against Lucien Castle, and by extension Mason Lockwood."

"Once we have that information, we're happy to finish off the operation by ourselves. For now, it's beyond what the three of us can achieve together." Klaus admits somewhat grudgingly.

Katherine, always so good at picking up the subtle nuances of body language and someone's mood, pins Klaus with her gaze.

"What's your relationship with Tatia Petrova? Judging by the reaction of both of your brothers, it's not something that either of them anticipated you bringing up."

Caroline leans forward, curious to hear his answer as Klaus cocks his head to the side, eyes dark as he regards Katherine.

"If anyone else had asked me that question…" He trails off, tone taking on a dangerous quality as his body language changes.

Katherine just smiles to herself, as if all of her suspicions had been confirmed.

Honestly? For her, it just raises more questions, because it's obvious that there's _something_ between Klaus and Tatia, and tries to ignore the pang of jealousy that she feels in her stomach.

Despite Katherine's warnings, despite her own instincts, she was still drawn to the man sitting across the table from her, looking as if he wanted nothing more than to put a bullet through Katherine's forehead.

"It seems that I've touched a nerve." Katherine responds before turning to Elijah. "I guess we're headed to England then?"

Elijah looks uncomfortable as he exchanges a glance with Kol.

"Not quite. I thought we could pay a visit to one of our operatives currently stationed in Eastern Europe. He's been a valuable asset on the Castle case, and I believe that a visit with him would be… enlightening."

Kol just rolls his eyes at that pronouncement, clicking his pen impatiently as Elijah shoots him a warning look.

"What Elijah is trying to say in a roundabout way is there's something that we need to do in Eastern Europe before we can set foot in the motherland once more."

Klaus has fallen silent, rubbing at his temples, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else on the planet but in this boardroom, with his brothers.

"Kol…" Elijah's tone is that of a warning, and it attracts Katherine's attention as Ric glances between them all somewhat warily.

"And what's that?" Katherine asks in a silken tone designed for persuasion.

Kol blinks twice in surprise at Katherine, perhaps not having been subjected to her for extended periods of time before. Among Katherine's other talents, she had a particular proclivity for interrogation, and extracting information from the most random of places.

Kol just grins, rubbing his hands together somewhat gleefully.

"We're going to bust someone out of jail."

* * *

 **AN: And here's Chapter 3! This one was a bit of a filler, but necessary to further establish the relationships between our characters (as well as introducing Enzo.)**

 **I really love that I can write more Kol in this version, I'm having a lot of fun playing around with his character and the dynamics between the three brothers :)**

 **Caroline finds out a bit more about Klaus and his dark past. Again, the history between Katherine, Elijah, and Klaus will be revealed a little further on in the story.**

 **Next chapter Klaus and Caroline may have a moment, and The Mikaelson's, Caroline, and Katherine head to Eastern Europe to stage a jailbreak. Any theories as to who they'll be trying to bust out? I'd love to hear your guesses!**

 **See you on the other side and don't forget to review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or it's characters. If I did, The Originals would never have happened, Kol would be alive and happily causing mayhem somewhere, and Klaus and Caroline would be travelling the world and sexing it up.**

* * *

 _0700 hours, somewhere over the North Atlantic Ocean_

"Are we going to regret this?" She asks Katherine quietly as they sit in the belly of the A400M turboprop aircraft that Elijah is currently piloting.

Katherine looks up from the map that she's currently committing to memory, an intricate layout of the roads surrounding Budapest, the capital of Hungary.

True to Kol's word, it would seem that the first part of their operation involved a jailbreak, unsanctioned and totally illegal, given that the Hungarian authorities had no clue what their intentions were beyond the fact that Elijah wanted to use their airspace and an old abandoned airfield for some 'refuelling'.

This meant that they were immediately on a time limit, anything longer than three hours would most probably draw the attention of Hungarian special forces and the army, two factions that she had absolutely no desire to come face to face with anytime soon, given their reputation.

"Honestly? I have no idea." Katherine finally replies, returning her gaze to the countless maps strewn across the floor between them. "Here. Make sure you've got the layout of the jail memorised in case plans change."

She glances around the belly of the plane, the thrumming of the propellors keeping them aloft a somewhat soothing sound all things given.

Kol had disappeared into his workshop hours before, no doubt coming up with the right combination of C4 and other explosives that would do the trick for this particular mission.

Klaus wasn't even on the plane, having hitched a ride out to Budapest the previous night, a military transport agreeing to drop him off on the way to their ultimate destination of the American base out in Germany.

He had some groundwork to lay before they hit the ground, and although she's kind of freaked out by the fact that they hadn't had contact with Klaus for over 12 hours, she does her best to put him out of her mind.

Picking up the map, she squints at the layout of Budapesti fegyhaz es borton, or roughly translated, Budapest Prison.

It was a lot simpler than she thought it would be, the prison itself built in a large square surrounding a massive courtyard, each of the four sides being it's own wing. It was two levels of cells, but she didn't anticipate that she'd have to spend anytime in there if all went to plan.

Their mission was relatively simple. Kai Parker was an MI6 operative who had been caught operating illegally on Hungarian soil. While he was awaiting extradition to Britain to be reprimanded by his superiors, he was being held in Budapest Prison in the wing assigned to political prisoners.

Kai had been languishing for nigh on 3 months now, and although he was getting extradited anyway, they were merely speeding up the process, as Kol would put it.

Either way, heads were going to roll once the Hungarians cottoned onto the fact that MI6 had busted out one of their own, and she certainly didn't envy the negotiations and the smoothing over of ruffled feathers that the director of MI6 would have to undertake after this.

But apparently these orders had come from the very top, so she tried not to let it get to her too much.

"Hey." Katherine interrupts her train of thoughts, her tone gentle. "Are you alright? I know this is a bit crazy, even by our mission standards."

Between the two of them, they'd done plenty of unsanctioned missions on foreign soil, operating efficiently as a partnership that hadn't gone unnoticed by Alaric and the rest of the intelligence community back home.

She wasn't stupid, she knew the odds of her making it out of this alive were ten times higher when Katherine was with her to watch her six.

But running with the Mikaelson siblings was something else entirely, because it was pretty much _unheard of._

 _"_ Yeah. I'll be fine." She replies with a quick smile for Katherine's benefit.

Katherine looks very much like she doesn't believe a word of it, but to her relief chooses to say nothing more, instead bends her dark head of curls over the map once again.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" She hisses towards Katherine, who gives her an amused smile before pulling another map towards her.

"Caroline, this is Klaus Mikaelson that we're talking about. His sense of self preservation is remarkable all things considered. He'll be fine, stop worrying."

"Alright, ladies!" Kol Mikaelson comes bursting out of his work shop, a manic look in his eyes as he skids to a stop in front of them, folding down onto the floor and crossing his legs.

Katherine, realising that Kol is holding incendiary devices, sweeps the pile of maps towards her hurriedly, stacking them into a pile before dropping them on the nearest flat surface.

Caroline scrambles backwards a little as Kol dumps the pile where the maps had been, looking at both of them expectantly, a little taken aback by their reactions.

"Oh god, nothing is armed. Please both of you relax. I'm not that stupid." Kol begins quickly.

"Could've fooled me." Katherine mutters under her breath, just loud enough for her to hear. She cracks a smile as Kol glances between them both before clearing his throat.

"Right, well. I've been tinkering around in the workshop for a bit, and I've come up with some stuff that will possibly help with our little jailbreak side mission."

"If it's going to level a street block then it's a no go. We have our orders Kol."

Kol just sighs, as if Katherine had done him a great disappointment.

"It's like you think I have no sense of finesse or subtlety at all."

"You're a Mikaelson. Finesse isn't exactly your style."

"I'll concede that point." Kol replies with a wink. "But as you'll very quickly learn Katerina, I prefer a much more subtle means of gettng the job done than my brothers do."

"Call me Katerina again and I'll tear you limb from limb." Katherine doesn't look at Kol when she delivers the threat, but judging by the full body flinch that Kol does she doesn't need to.

"God, what is it with everyone wanting to kill me?"

"Well it does sort of come with the territory, when you think about it." Caroline points out as Kol nods thoughtfully, as if in agreement.

"We're getting off topic." Katherine snaps, bringing them both back down to Earth. "What have you got for us?"

"For you, a couple of hand grenades and a stun gun. Sorry, not much I can rustle up on short notice." Kol replies with a shrug, pushing what is obviously Katherine's pile towards her.

"Thanks." Katherine responds dryly, holding one of the hand grenades up to inspect it.

"For you, I have this." Kol pronounces with relish, holding out what looks to be a silver pen.

"It's a pen." She remarks after a moment, Kol looking at her expectantly.

He slumps with a sigh.

"It's not _just_ a pen, as cleverly disguised as it is. The pointy end turns into the equivalent of a blowtorch, can burn through most walls if given enough time. Just use it like you normally would if you need to bust out of anywhere."

She eyes off the clicker, thumb hovering over it as Kol's eyes widen.

"I wouldn't do that, unless you like the idea of being blown out of the sky."

She almost drops the pen at those words, Kol lunging towards her suddenly.

"Be careful with it." He admonishes, handing her back the pen. "Click three times and throw it as far away from you as you can. It has a delayed ten second timer before it goes boom. You'll want to be as far away from it as you can by then."

"You made this in the time that we've left America?" She asks, a little impressed as Katherine eyes off the pen with some trepidation.

Kol looks a little smug, but simply nods to confirm her question.

"T minus ten minutes until we land. Please make sure that you're buckled in Kol, we don't want a repeat of what happened last time." Elijah's voice is crisp and oh so English over the plane's intercom, and Katherine muffles a laugh at his words.

Together they stow away any loose items, Kol glowering away from where he's buckled himself into his seat.

"Honestly, it's like they think that I can't function on my own. God I wish I had a stiff drink right about now."

* * *

There's a term that's been used by the military since WWII to describe a situation that is totally out of control and beyond repair.

FUBAR, otherwise known as Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition has been lovingly thrown around by armed forces all over the world for decades now.

FUBAR was an accurate description of just how well their jailbreak was going.

What she thought would be an easy walk in, walk out jailbreak has now turned into a miles long literal run for her life through Budapest's subterranean tunnels, Klaus and the British MI6 agent, Kai Parker barking out instructions to each other.

And of course, somehow the army had gotten involved. And they were apparently more than prepared to use deadly force if it meant bringing Kai Parker back under the roof of the Budapest Prison.

Getting in had been the easy part. Security was lax for the most part, prison guards armed only with a taser and a revolver, not on the lookout for anyone that was coming to bust out one of their political prisoners.

After all, how often was there actually an emergency? With her blonde hair pulled back into a bun and the glasses she looked innocent enough, small enough to not draw any unwarranted attention to herself as she scrawled the signature of one of her many aliases that she used when operating out in the field.

She'd already clocked the cctv set up, determined that it wasn't sophisticated enough to do anything like iris scanning. Even if it did, the likelihood of her showing up as anyone other than her alias, Clarice Masterton, was slim.

Waiting in the visiting area, she cast her mind over what she knew of Kai Parker, which admittedy wasn't a whole lot. Elijah and Klaus for that matter had been surprisingly tight lipped about their colleague, and Kol, actually displaying some tact for once in his life, had followed his brother's lead.

Katherine hadn't pushed, which was enough for her. If the older woman was willing to go all in on this one, then she would go along for the ride as well.

The next part of their plan had gone just fine as well. Klaus, who had been in Budapest for the past 24 hours, had been a busy man.

Not only had he tracked down one of the many prison guards who rotated through Budapest prison, he'd had enough time to incapacitate one of the more unfamiliar faces, stealing his identity and replacing it with his own.

She didn't like the fact that their entire plan was riding on the fact that Klaus was essentially posing as one of the guards, who any of the others may have already worked with. But they were already running on borrowed time, and they couldn't just charge in guns blazing.

They worked well as a team, she knocking out the remaining guard, he unlocking but not removing the handcuffs around Kai's wrists. They still needed to get out the front door of the prison, which was going to be the riskiest part of their plan.

Of course, that's when everything went to hell in a hand basket.

The guards on the front desk, apparently tipped off by _something_ in thier demeanour, were strangely alert when they stepped out of the room.

Klaus moved forward first, placing a hand on Kai's shoulder and propelling him forward towards the two guards. She fell into step behind Klaus, eyes sweeping the room, determining if there were going to be any further threats.

"Prisoner transfer." Klaus begins gruffly as the two guards exchange glances. "Orders from the warden."

He takes a piece of paper from his pocket, holding it up in front of him. The two guards lean forward to peer at the writing on the paper, and what happens next is nothing short of stunning.

Kai, as if reading Klaus' mind, jerks his wrists apart, cuffs falling to the floor as he launches himself at the closest guard.

Even weakened and no doubt exhausted from his time spent in less than savoury quarters for the past couple of months, Kai Parker is still deadly, still a force to be reckoned with.

Klaus takes care of the other guard with a simple elbow to the nose, the guard crumpling where he stands, probably still alive but with a very broken nose.

Klaus glances distastefully down at his blood splattered sleeve as a loud, klaxon like wail begins to echo all around them.

Kai tilts his head towards her, motioning for her to follow them.

"Time to go."

They don't waste any further time, the pounding echo of footsteps racing towards them as the guards respond to the breach in security. No doubt a panic button has also been triggered down at the local precinct, police probably already on their way to assist in any way that they can.

The two guards at the gate have no idea what's going on despite the chaos unfolding around them, and it's easy enough to knock both of them out and gain access to the gate, Katherine revving an SUV on the other side.

They pile into the car, Katherine not bothering to wait for them to buckle up before she's peeling away from the prison, plunging them into the labyrinth that is Budapest.

It's all twists and turns, and it doesn't take long before they have three police cars tailing them, lights flashing and sirens up at full volume.

Katherine doesn't bother with conventional road rules, weaving around cars, always staying on the correct side of the road. The job of a field agent is an occupational hazard, but that doesn't mean that they don't try and minimise the carnage they often leave in their wake when they can.

Klaus is all heat as he presses into the side of her body, reaching around her to buckle her into the car lest they hit a kerb and they all go flying.

Her eyes flick towards his at the surprising gesture, but he's already learning forward as much as he can in his seat, murmuring under his breath at Katherine, who nods and wrenches on the wheel, hard.

They lose one of the police cars in a series of tight turns, the others forced to hang back and go single file through the narrow streets.

Amazingly, through all of this her phone still manages to ring, and it's with some surprise that she fishes out her iPhone and swipes her thumb across the screen to accept the call.

"Hello!" She yells into the receiver, Katherine leaning down on the horn to warn other motorists of their coming.

"Well that certainly sounds like fun." Kol's voice echoes down the line, decisively British and sounding the very image of relaxed, which does nothing to improve her already frenetic mood.

"Kol, I really do _not_ have time to listen to you be a little bastard about whatever the hell you're about to tell me." She replies furiously, clutching the phone to her ear and holding on for dear life as Katherine throws them around another tight corner.

"There's no need to be rude." Kol replies with a sniff. "And you're really not going to like what I'm about to say next then, darling."

She sits in stony silence as Kol takes a breath.

"You're going to have to delay your arrival at the airfield by an hour or so." He says offhandedly, like it's not a massive fucking deal that they somehow need to shake off their tail of police and army personnel. "Elijah is dealing with some members of the Bulgarian armed forces presently."

"What?!" She shrieks, drawing the attention of everyone in the vehicle save Katherine, who just maintains a white knuckled grip on the steering wheel as they crash through a fruit stand, careening through a marketplace as civilians dive out of the way of their vehicle.

Klaus rips the phone out of her hand quite rudely she might add, before hitting the button to put the phone on speaker.

"Oh it's nothing too drastic just yet, nothing that Elijah and I can't handle. They're starting to get curious though, poking around the plane and demanding to see our flight manifesto, wondering why we need to refuel here of all places."

"Deal with it. We can't delay on this end." Klaus replies curtly, glancing in the rear view mirror. "We're going to have to ditch this vehicle but then we're coming straight for you. Be ready."

Klaus hangs up, tossing the phone back to her as Katherine continues to drive.

* * *

"Stay down." Katherine hisses, waving her and Kai towards the cover of the alley as Klaus jimmies the lock on a little Fiat sedan.

It's inconspicuous, designed to not draw attention. She feels sorry for the poor soul that's going to exit their apartment tomorrow to find their car gone, but she tries not to dwell on it too much. Collateral damage is a common side effect of working in the field, and she's long since learnt to not feel bad about it.

She's a little impressed by the speed in which Klaus manages to break into the car, hot-wiring it and revving the accelerator a few times before waving them all towards the vehicle.

The sound of a siren has them all ducking in and closing the doors, Klaus drawing away from the kerb at a normal speed. The last thing they need at the moment is a surprise traffic stop because they're exceeding the limits or driving erratically.

They'd managed to shake their pursuers thanks to Katherine's scarily effective driving, and the last hour had been spent sloshing through the subterranean water tunnels beneath the grounds of the city, while the police and the army had launched a city wide sweep to find them.

They'd popped up on the opposite side of the city, well away from Budapest prison where the streets were quiet, the avenues shaded by delicate greenery. It was like another world, and under any other circumstances she would stop and admire the delicate beauty of the city around them.

All the same, the feeling of wet socks was not a welcome sensation, and she can't help but wince as she wriggles her toes in her boots.

Katherine, having long since memorised their route out of the city, manages to somehow avoid all the road blocks that the police have put up, navigating her way through a slightly circuitous route towards the airfield where they all hoped that Elijah would be waiting, preferably without an armed guard in the form of the Bulgarian army.

Kol Mikaelson is sitting on top of a pile of unconscious bodies when they draw up to the airfield. He looks the very picture of relaxed, a faint bruise just blooming on his cheekbone as he reclines, elbowing one of the soldiers in the temple who was just beginning to stir.

"Unbelievable." She mutters under her breath as they exit the Fiat, Elijah appearing at the bottom of the loading ramp, casting an exasperated look at his younger brother with a sigh.

"Right on time, as usual Niklaus." Elijah begins, fiddling with the cuffs of his ever present suit, dress shoes still impossibly shiny.

Despite the fact that Elijah and Kol had just taken down a unit of crack army troops, there's not a hair out of place on Elijah's head, Kol getting up and loping towards the aircraft.

"Looks like you had a chance to have a bit of fun here as well, brother." Klaus replies, steering Kai towards the aircraft, the rest of them following along.

Elijah waves a hand dismissively.

"A minor inconvenience. Nothing that Kol and I couldn't handle, given enough time."

Elijah slams his fist over a button once they're all in the belly of the aircraft, sealing the door behind them as he strides towards the cockpit.

"Still some way to go I think, before we're out of their airspace. Katerina, would you mind assisting?"

Katherine, no doubt exhausted from their mad dash through the city, doesn't protest, simply follows Elijah up the ladder and into the front of the plane.

The rest of them are left to their own devices, and she doesn't hesitate to find the nearest jump seat and deposit herself into it.

She rests her head against the wall of the plane behind her, and within seconds, she's asleep.

* * *

When she finally stirs, the belly of the aircraft is dimmed, lit only by a faint overhead light.

She's alone, Katherine and Elijah still up the front flying the plane, Kol and Kai probably having no doubt gone to seek out more comfortable sleeping quarters.

It takes her a moment to realise that it's Klaus sitting opposite her, avoiding her gaze and cleaning his weapon slowly, methodically.

It's the first time that the two of them have been alone since their shared dance at Damon Salvatore's fundraiser, the chemistry still sizzling between them even as she'd tried to deny any lingering feelings for him.

She keeps her eyes slitted, not showing that she's fully awake yet as she watches him.

His brow is furrowed, frowning in concentration as he finishes cleaning the barrel of his gun, dropping the rag onto the jump seat next to him and very suddenly turning a knowing gaze on her.

Busted, she sighs, stretching her arms above her head and opening her eyes fully.

"Welcome back." Klaus remarks quietly, sitting still and continuing to stare at her as she tilts her chin defiantly, meeting his gaze evenly.

"Where are we?" She questions, because honestly she has no idea how long she's been out for. Two minutes could have passed, or two hours.

"Somewhere over Western Europe I presume." Klaus replies, dismantling his weapon within seconds, hands moving on autopilot. "But we are out of Bulgarian airspace, for what it's worth."

She lets out a sigh of relief at this, because every country operated by the same, strict set of international laws.

While they already had their flight path approved ahead of time, skirting most of the European airspaces that would have warranted extra permission, the Bulgarian army would have no doubt not had theirs cleared fast enough in order to pursue them.

Couple that with whatever cloaking technology the aircraft they were flying in had up it's arsenal, they were probably invisible on most radars, their presence only known due to the noise of the engines.

It's strange, sitting here with him, remannts of their weekend all those years ago still lingering between them, the unspoken elephant in the room.

Klaus glances warily at her for a moment before taking a breath.

"Is there a particular reason why you are opposed to discussing what happened between us?" He begins hesitantly, unsure just how far he should push.

"Klaus, what happened between us is ancient history." She replies immediately. "We had a weekend together, we didn't know each other's identities. I'm over it."

Klaus rubs his hand through his hair thoughtfully for a moment before resting his elbows on his knees.

"Now why don't I believe you?" He remarks lightly, the ghost of a smirk curling at the edge of his lips. "You're an awful liar, considering your occupation. Might want to work on that."

She digs her fingernails into the palms of her hand, anything to stop herself from taking a swing at him, if only to wipe the infuriating look off his face.

"Do you really think I'd sleep with you again, given all the horrible shit that you've done? That you've done willingly? And don't just use the you were 'following orders' bullshit. Sometimes horrible people do horrible things." She sneers at him, twisting the metaphorical knife in a little deeper.

A shadow passes across Klaus' face, expression flipping from arrogant to murderous in what seems like split seconds.

He stands, striding across the small space that separates them, slamming a hand into the wall next to her head as he bends down, not afraid to meet her eyes.

She can't help but shrink back into her seat, a little intimidated by his proximity, swallowing audibly.

"Yes, I am a horrible person, and I have done horrible things, sweetheart." Klaus breathes into her ear as she sits frozen in her jump seat, waiting to see what he'd do next.

He trails a single finger down the column of her throat, catching on the collar of her shirt for a moment as he tugs at the material.

Her heart is racing in her chest as she turns her head slightly to face him, his dark gaze meeting hers.

"I find it somewhat amusing, that you call me an awful person. I suppose then, you've forgotten what happened in Fallujah." Klaus continues quietly, pausing for her reaction before pushing away from the wall, turning on his heel and letting the darkness of the plane swallow him up.

She slumps back into the wall, sucking in a deep breath of air, trying to calm her racing heart as the plane vibrates around her.

It takes a moment for her to realise that her hands are shaking.

* * *

 **AN: And here's Chapter 4!**

 **This one was actually written, but then I decided that I hated it and finished rewriting it today. I like this version a lot better.**

 **Here we have our long awaited jail break, and the introduction of Kai Parker into the fold. This is the first time that I've written Kai in one of my stories, so bear with me as I try and get a grasp on his character.**

 **Caroline and Klaus argue. I really wanted to convey Caroline's confusion with her feelings towards Klaus here. She does what most people tend to do when confronted with something they're not ready to deal with- she lashes out.**

 **We will find out next chapter exactly what happened in Fallujah, Iraq. It involves a mission gone wrong for Caroline and will reveal a bit more about her character.**

 **I will try my best to also work on the next chapter of Fever Pitch this weekend.**

 **See you on the other side, and don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or it's characters. If I did, The Originals and Steroline would never have happened, Kol would be alive and happily causing mayhem somewhere, and Klaus and Caroline would be travelling the world and sexing it up.**

* * *

 **Chapter Warning: The section on Fallujah may be distressing for some- the death of a child is explored. Please skip if you are easily upset over this type of content.**

* * *

A shadow over his bunk has him squeezing one eye open as Kol seemingly materialises out of the darkness before him.

"Oh you look _wrecked."_ Kol announces somewhat gleefully as he just sighs, swinging his legs over the side of his bunk, planting his feet on the ground.

"I was trying to get some shut eye before you so rudely interrupted. But I can see that's not going to happen now." Klaus replies with a yawn, running a hand through his hair and fixing his gaze on his younger brother.

"Yes, well that can't be helped." Kol waves dismissively at that, settling on the opposite bunk, the drone of the plane engine around them a steady background noise as Elijah continues to pilot them towards the UK.

Weather permitting, they'll arrive sometime in the middle of the night, which timed in nicely with MI6, who usually liked to operate under the cover of darkness in clandestine circumstances such as this.

"I can understand why you're awake. It's not like you did a mad dash through Budapest a couple of hours ago."

Kol just snorts, levelling him with a calm stare.

"What and you think Elijah took all of those army fuckers down? He was busy up front trying to get the plane started in case we had to make a quick getaway. Although had you arrived just five minutes earlier your help would have been appreciated."

Most people they come across, allies and adversaries alike, have a curious habit of underestimating Kol. He's not physically intimidating like himself or Elijah is, and his stance and bearing doesn't do much to further this.

But like all of them, Kol is trained to use deadly force, often without discrimination. And what he'd said a couple of days ago had been true, Kol probably could take him in a hand to hand combat situation.

Kol was dangerous in other ways, always thinking five steps ahead of everybody else, himself included. It was what made him such a valued member of the team, and he would never let Kol believe otherwise.

So he dealt with Kol's odd quirks and habits, including his somewhat annoying ability to appear in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Yes, well I was otherwise occupied." He replies dryly, reaching for the bottle of water on the bench beside him, uncapping it and taking a swig.

"Ah yes your car chase throughout the city. Although I couldn't help but notice some sparks flying between you and a certain blonde agent we both know. Any details you're willing to share?"

"Nothing to share." He replies a little to quickly as Kol's lips quirk into a smile.

His brother scared him sometimes, with just how well he could read the minute reactions of his body. A human lie detector, he'd deduced very early on in Kol's intelligence career.

"Riiight." Kol exaggerates the word with a raised eyebrow. "You know you're a really horrible liar? You should probably work on that."

"Kol? Shut up." He grumbles as Kol just rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So how pissed do you think mother's going to be when she finds out about the jail break?"

"She already knows Kol. She probably knew as soon as it happened. But yes, we're going to get reamed out. You know how she hates all that diplomatic stuff."

"I'm sure Rebekah will be on hand to smooth it over. She can be so charming sometimes." Kol remarks fondly.

He smiles at the mention of his younger sister. Rebekah hadn't chosen to follow them into field work, even though she definitely had an aptitude for it, what with her ability to pick up languages like it was absolutely nothing.

Instead she'd studied international relations and had then gone into diplomacy, working first for the British Government before picking up a job as a diplomatic attache at MI6.

She had a good head in a crisis, and no doubt she'd already be all over this, trying to iron it out and come to some sort of agreement with the Bulgarians.

"Yes if she doesn't murder all of us first. Although I suspect that Katerina Petrova might just beat Bekah to the punch when she finds out that we lied about the mission being sanctioned."

Kol just shrugs.

"She's with Elijah. He'll never tell her, the man has withstood torture from the Yakuza triad for christ sake."

"Don't underestimate her." He tells Kol honestly. "She looks demure but she's anything but. Same goes for Caroline. They might train them differently over at Langley, but that does't mean it's any less effective."

"Food for thought indeed." Kol replies with a laugh. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind brother."

Kol stands then, stretching his arms over his head with a yawn.

"God I can't wait to sleep in actual bed. I'll see you later. I'm going to go and check on Kai."

He waits until his brother leaves the room before flopping back onto the bed with a sigh.

The coming hours were not going to be pleasant, even if picking up Kai Parker along the way had been necessary.

His mother, the director of MI6, was going to be pissed, and the debriefing was probably going to be long and involved as she detailed out how many international rules of engagement they'd broken with their brazen mission.

And then of course, there was the matter of Caroline, and how the hell he could try and make things right between them. She was determined to hate him, and he wanted to find out why, wanted to find out what he'd done.

He suspected that she would be a far harder nut to crack as the mission progressed, took them to different parts of the world as he suspected that it would.

He closes his eyes with a long exhale, sleep finally claiming him.

* * *

 ** _Fallujah, Iraq, 2014_**

 _The heat of the desert was pervasive, the sun almost burning in it's intensity as she squinted through the scope of her rifle._

 _She'd been in the same position for hours with her spotter, laying on her stomach on the roof of a gutted building, obviously the victim of various bombing sweeps from US and Iraqi forces alike._

 _She knew the back of her neck was burning, knew that she'd pay for this later, but such was the life of a sniper as she'd very quickly discovered._

 _She'd never intended to end up in the Middle East, stuck in the middle of the USA's pointless occupation of Iraq. The political situation was complex, and she'd very quickly given up on trying to make heads or tails of it once she'd put boots on the ground._

 _But the US army had requested her assistance, and since she wasn't actively out in the field for the CIA doing any missions, she couldn't exactly think of a reason to say no._

 _It would be high risk and dangerous but the pay was good and it was only for a few days before she'd be released back to Langley._

 _There had been reports of a new terrorist group known as ISIS who were looking to take control of the city after most of the American forces had left, and a number of known ISIS operatives had been spotted in the city over the past few weeks._

 _Not wanting to use overwhelming force to get rid of the operatives, the US army had collaborated with the Iraqi army, and had instead employed the use of snipers in strategic spots around the cities, accompanied by spotters who would identify the target._

 _The British army had boots on the ground as well, and she'd very quickly learnt to distinguish the khaki and sand camouflage that blended in with the city so well._

 _"Water?" Her spotter asks, as she blindly fumbles for the bottle, taking her eye away from the scope for a few precious seconds so she can take a few gulps._

 _She was dehydrated, and couldn't wait to get off this building and have a kip back at the base just outside of the city._

 _Her spotter returns the pair of binoculars to his eyes with a smile. He'd introduced himself earlier as Stefan Salvatore, and of course her first thought had been whether he was related to Damon Salvatore, the young politician making a run for a seat in the Senate this year._

 _He wasn't a talker, which suited her just fine. She didn't tend to be either in situations like this. She'd offended more than her share of spotters by telling them to shut the fuck up so that she could concentrate._

 _She only ever had one shot to hit the target after all._

 _Stefan's radio crackles quietly on his hip as she blinks once before adjusting her scope slightly._

 _"Salvatore here." Stefan says quietly so as not to startle her or make her jump._

 _She tunes out the reply on the radio, focusing her gaze on the city block below her._

 _"Roger that." Stefan says before laying his radio gently on the ground for easy access. "Meeting's almost done according to intel on the ground. There's been some whisperings of children being used as human shields though."_

 _She swears under her breath at this, because the concept was absolutely horrible. She'd seen children with weapons of their own, machetes, small pistols. She hadn't yet had to take a shot at one of them, but she was dreading the day when the order came._

 _Movement down on the block draws her gaze, and she sees a pairing of British soldiers on patrol, dressed in full combat gear along with helmets and goggles. It would protect them from most sniper fire, but it was still a dangerous job._

 _They're on high alert, fingers on the triggers of their semi automatic weapons, eyes constantly scanning the street in front of them as they complete their patrol._

 _A loud bang disturbs the stillness of the scene before them as Stefan's radio blares to life once more._

 _"We have a child carrying a grenade, I repeat, a child carrying a grenade towards two British soldiers."_

 _She glances at Stefan in horror as he lunges for the radio, speaking urgently into it._

 _"Please confirm." Stefan asks firmly, because it wouldn't be the first time that someone had called the situation incorrectly._

 _"Situation confirmed." Another voice replies. "If you've got a shot, take it."_

 _She sights down her scope, taking in a breath as she sees the scene unfold in front of her. The two British soldiers seem unsure of the child running across the road towards them, something held in his outstretched hand._

 _He couldn't be more than twelve years old._

 _"Take the shot!" The radio shrieks again as Stefan winces, turning the volume down slightly. "That's a direct order, soldier."_

 _"Not a solider." She mutters through gritted teeth as the child continues his progress across the street, the British soldiers raising their weapons in response, the danger very quickly becoming apparent._

 _The crack of a gunshot echoes around the street, the bullet exiting the chamber and singing through the air with unerring accuracy._

 _The child crumples, blood pooling around his body as she drops her rifle and vomits into a bucket left over by the previous sniper. Stefan pats her on the back somewhat sympathetically as chaos erupts in the street below._

 _"Time to go." Stefan declares, grabbing her by the back of the shirt and hauling her towards the stairwell._

 _She quickly collapses her rifle, depositing the pieces into a backpack that goes over her shoulder._

 _When she hits street level, the British soldiers are trying to restore order, one of them crouching over the body of the boy she'd shot._

 _He's dead, if the amount of blood pooled beneath him is any indication. She feels dizzy, faint, as Stefan slings her arm over his shoulder, ushering her towards the cover of another building._

 _Through the ringing in her ears, she can hear him radioing for reinforcements, confirming the location of the nearest unit that could get her back to base._

 _The hairs on the back of her neck prickle as she turns her head, meeting the gaze of one of the soldiers, who's taken his helmet off to reveal sandy blonde hair and day old stubble, hand reaching out to scoop up something beside the body._

 _It takes her a moment to realise that the British soldier isn't holding an inactive grenade._

 _He was holding a small rubber ball._

 _She'd fucked up._

 _"Oh god." She puts her hand over her mouth, bile at the back of her throat as she dry heaves at the realisation._

 _"Come on." Stefan pushes her towards an armoured convoy that had rumbled around a corner, and it isn't until she feels the door shut securely behind her that she lets herself break down._

* * *

Footsteps on the stairs leading to the cockpit pulls her back into focus as Katherine appears, crouching down before her.

"You okay?" Katherine asks quietly, voice masked by the rumbling of the plane as Elijah steers them towards London. "We'll be landing soon. You can get some sleep."

"I was thinking about Fallujah." She tells Katherine honestly, the other woman's face twisting into a sympathetic grimace.

"Hey. Don't think about it." Katherine replies firmly, reaching out to squeeze her hand. "You had orders, and someone higher up than you has blood on their hands because of it. That was not your fault."

She shakes her head in denial.

"No it's more than that. The British soldier on the street…" She trails off, completely disbelieving of the fact that she hadn't put two and two together when she'd spotted Klaus in Mexico all those years ago.

"It was Klaus, Kat. He was the soldier on the street in Fallujah."

* * *

"Oh god, just when I thought the situation couldn't get any worse." A voice rings out across the lobby of MI6, and her eyes fall on a stunning blonde woman striding angrily across the floor towards them.

She's all business, hair pulled back in a tight bun, glasses perched on her nose, her outfit absolutely drop dead gorgeous.

To her and Katherine's surprise, the Mikaleson brother's actually flinch away from the blonde woman as she stops in front of them.

"The CIA? Really Elijah?" The woman huffs, tapping her foot impatiently against the ground as she barely spares them a glance.

Kol grins at the woman.

"Rebekah, so lovely to see you as well sister."

She raises an eyebrow at that little tidbit of information. It would seem espionage ran in the family, at least when it came to the Mikaelsons.

"Shut up Kol, I'm too angry to deal with you right now." Rebekah replies, waving a hand towards the elevators. "Come this way. She's not happy with you."

"Yes I wouldn't imagine that she is." Elijah replies mildly, ushering her and Katherine towards a waiting elevator, Rebekah stomping a path through the crowds of employees.

"What's the big deal exactly?" She stage whispers to Katherine. "I thought this mission was an approved one?"

"No, actually it wasn't." Rebekah jabs a finger repeatedly on the close door button once they're all piled in. "I've been dealing with the fallout for the past couple of hours. You've got a lot of explaining to do." She directs this towards her brothers, who all react in different, minute ways.

Kol seems vastly unaffected by his sisters moods, Elijah slightly sheepish as he stares down at his dress shoes. Klaus just seems bemused by the whole situation, albeit a little exhausted from previous events.

Katherine just has a dangerous expression on her face, and she knows not to say anything to the older woman when she's in a mood like this.

The elevator doors slide open with a soft ding and Rebekah leads the way down a carpeted hallway, ushering them into a brightly lit briefing room.

The slender woman waiting for them has hair the same shade of blonde as Rebekah, shares the same features as her children, who are even now situating themselves around the room.

She deduces correctly that this must be Esther Mikaelson, current director of MI6.

The door clicks shut behind Elijah, and Esther just stands still, levelling them all with a cool stare before giving her and Katherine a curt nod.

"I must first apologise to the two of you for dragging you both into this. I suspect you were not aware that your little expedition to Budapest was not necessarily approved by myself or my colleagues here at MI6."

"Yes, that quickly became apparent once we landed in London." Katherine replies with a soft drawl, referring to the veritable army of armed officers that had surrounded their plane upon landing, forcing them at gunpoint into an armoured vehicle that had promptly deposited them at MI6 HQ.

"I'll talk to Alaric, make sure that everything is smoothed over with the CIA." Esther replies softly, gesturing for them to take a seat on the chairs closest to them.

"Can someone please tell me what the hell you were thinking? Elijah? Niklaus? Kol?" She asks in a deadly voice.

Elijah clears his throat, leaning forward and giving his mother a bland smile.

"We deemed it necessary for the success of the mission that we liaise with Agent Parker over certain details involving Mason Lockwood and Lucien Castle."

"And it didn't occur to you to simply go and visit him in the prison?" Esther replies dryly, pointing out the obvious.

"We believe that he was at risk for retaliation from the Budapest Government. He was investigating possible links of corruption between some powerful Budapest business men and some companies based in the UK. We believe that had we not extracted him he would have been murdered." Klaus takes over from Elijah, voice hinting no sign of intimidation or fear from the imposing figure of his mother, or his superior officer.

"How can you know that for sure? We were due to expedite him the very next week."

Klaus just gives an infuriating smile.

"Just a hunch."

Esther lets out a quick exhale, the only sign that she's visibly trying to rein in her anger at the actions of her sons.

"We cannot operate on an international level based off your gut feelings Niklaus, as you very well know. We need to look at the facts before coming to a decision about something. I will speak to Agent Parker myself and decide if the information he provides about your mission was worth damaging international relations with the Hungarians for."

Esther pauses, and she can't help but give Katherine an impressed glance at the absolute dressing down that the director is giving to her sons.

"Let me make myself clear." She plants her hands on the table, leaning forward and fixing her gaze on each of her children. "If I hear even a whisper that you have embarrassed this organisation ever again, I will be pulling all of you from active duty and sending you down to the administration department. Permanently." She adds with a glare. "Do you understand?"

Elijah and Klaus give her a curt nod, Kol just stretching his arms over his head and yawning.

"God I am exhausted and famished. Bekah, can you go and get me some food darling?"

Rebekah just snarls at Kol, whacking him over the head with her folder as she stands and moves to exit the room, door slamming shut behind her.

Esther straightens, turning her gaze towards her and Katherine.

"I have some accommodation prepared for the both of you. I'm sure you're both eager to get some sleep." Esther gives them a kind smile, and she can't help but smile warmly in return as she and Katherine get to their feet.

Esther's words echo behind them as they step outside of the briefing room, door swinging shut behind them.

"As for the three of you, get out of my sight. Believe me when I say that we're not done here."

* * *

 **AN: Okay so this was a bit of an information dump, but basically we find out that Klaus and Caroline actually crossed paths before Mexico, while they were both in Fallujah, Iraq.**

 **What happened in Fallujah is something that has tormented Caroline for years and has affected her ability to function as a normal human being somewhat. So Klaus bringing it up in the last chapter has done her absolutely no favours.**

 **Next chapter we'll see Katherine and Elijah share a moment, Klaus and Caroline finally come to an agreement, and the mission progress further. And of course, Kol is Kol.**

 **See you on the other side, and don't forget to review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Insert usual disclaimer here.**

* * *

A hand clapping over her mouth is enough to have her waking instantly, hand striking out almost on instinct, anything to get herself out of bed and on even footing with her assailant.

It was the first rule of hand to hand combat. Never let yourself be in a vulnerable position, especially if you're going up against an experienced opponent.

Klaus catches her wrist with one hand, the other holding a torch under his chin like he's ready to tell her a creepy bedtime story as he looms out of the darkness.

She relaxes, body calming as Klaus removes his hand from her mouth. She and Katherine had chosen to stay in MI6 quarters provided to them by Esther, but she had no idea that Klaus and his brothers were still in the building. She assumed that they each had their own lodgings located somewhere around the city.

"Time to go. We've been compromised." He moves to the corner of the room, flipping on the light switch as he flicks off his torch.

"Klaus, what the _fuck."_ She pronounces lightly. "Is this your idea of some sort of joke?" She asks as the door flies open and Katherine strides into the room, a knife in either hand and a murderous expression on her face.

"I heard voices, _oh."_ She stops short at the sight of Klaus dressed in full combat gear, an assault rifle strapped across his back. "What the fuck?" Katherine echoes her sentiments from earlier as Klaus casts his gaze heavenwards with a sigh before turning to her wardrobe.

"I'll keep this to the 25 words or less version shall I? MI6 have been compromised, at the moment there's some very scary looking guys with assault weapons storming the upper levels of the building. Time to go."

"That was more than twenty five words." She points out as Klaus lets out a chuckle, throwing the clothes towards her to put on despite the seriousness of the situation.

"Have we got the firepower to shoot our way out?" Katherine asks, immediately slipping into her role as an operative as she dresses.

"Elijah's swinging his way by the armoury, he's going to meet us at an agreed on location."

"You might want to share that with us in case you die." Katherine replies almost cheerfully, zipping up a jacket and pulling her hair back into a pony tail.

She looks positively gleeful at the thought of a fire fight, and again, she can't help but be reminded why Katherine has a reputation for being so terrifying.

Klaus shoots her a filthy look but doesn't respond, instead turning to face her.

"Ready to go sweetheart?"

She's surprised by the endearment, stiffening a little before nodding and falling into step behind Klaus and Katherine. Before they step out into the hallway, Klaus palms her a hand gun, doing the same for Katherine.

It's not her preferred weapon in this scenario, but until they can make contact with Elijah and Kol, it'll have to do.

Klaus doesn't waste any time, opening the door silently and slipping out into the hallway, his footsteps muffled by the carpeted floor.

As they wind through the building, the sound of muffled gunshots echo behind them, their pursuers gaining ground quickly.

"What have they come for?" She asks curiously as Klaus leads them down another set of concrete stairs.

"Probably the Castle files. It's a sensitive case, and if there's a mole in MI6, which it seems very much like there is, then he knows that we're running an investigation against him."

"And are they going to find anything?" Katherine asks sharply as Klaus shoulders his way through a fire door, the corridor stretching out before them dimly lit and not providing much cover should the situation go South.

Klaus pauses long enough to move a heavy table in front of the door, making the whole thing look rather effortless.

"No. Not if Kol's up to date on his security precautions, which he usually is on any given day or time. They're not going to find much for them to go off, which suits us just fine."

"Do people know that you're part of MI6?" She continues her line of questioning as they continue to wind her way through the building. Everyone knew who Alaric was as head of the CIA of course, but she and Kat tended to both keep their identities a secret from everyone but the people closest in their lives.

She wondered if it was the same over here.

"I hope not. It's not going to make our mission very easy now, is it?" Klaus replies with a somewhat disarming smile that has her stumbling a little.

Katherine just rolls her eyes, grabbing her by the upper arm and pulling her along with them.

"Do not get caught up in his web of lies and seduction." The older woman hisses towards her. "That is not a complication that you need in your life right now."

She shakes off Katherine's hand, keeping her eyes trained on Klaus' back as he jogs ahead of them.

"Kat, we are literally _running_ for our lives right about now. Do you seriously think that's even on my mind at the moment?" She replies, keeping her voice low so that Klaus doesn't hear them.

"I know you Caroline. Just be careful."

She very literally collides with a very hard body in the next few seconds, and she's stumbling back, Katherine swinging her fist towards the face of their assailant within split seconds.

Elijah has a calm expression on his face as he catches Katherine's fist, squeezing it warningly before she drops it.

"Sorry." Katherine apologies immediately, a charming smile on her face as Elijah relaxes just a little. "You startled us a little."

"That's not like you Katerina." Elijah replies, hefting a bag in Katherine's direction as they go. before he's falling into step beside his brother.

She waits until Elijah is out of earshot before she's shooting a significant glance in Katherine's direction.

"You were saying about lies and seduction?" She asks a little too innocently as Katherine glares at her.

"Shut up."

"One day, I'm going to get you to spill the whole, sordid story about the two of you. Fortunately for you, today is not that day." She continues as Klaus shoulders open another heavy steel door, doing a quick sweep outside before ushering them through.

The night air is cool, the area around them dark as they press themsleves against the side of the MI6 building. She can hear sirens in the distance, the Police no doubt responding to the distress call that some poor bastard had sent out as the building was being stormed.

Headlights come careening around the corner, Klaus shielding her with his body as the car roars towards them. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Elijah doing the same for Katherine.

The black SUV screeches to a halt in front of them, the undoubtedly bulletproof window lowering just enough so that Kol Mikaleson can grin at them from behind the steering wheel.

"Get in losers, we're going shopping."

* * *

"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Katherine yells above the noise of the wind as Elijah practically hangs out the belly of the aircraft, using some sort of hand held GPS tracker to calculate their optimum landing point in latitude and longitude.

"Not afraid of heights are you Petrova?" Kol replies amusedly as he adjusts the buckles of his flight suit. He's got what looks like a high powered laptop strapped to his chest, military grade, and packing some serious hardware if the protective shell is anything to go by.

Elijah turns to face them, using the clip on his harness to move along the plane towards them.

"If MI6 are compromised, then we can't rely on them for resourcing as we plan our next steps. I have a few friends in the forces that might be able to help out. Hopefully they'll expect us to flee back to America to rely on the CIA rather than stay in the United Kingdom." Elijah relays his thoughts to them, and she has to admit that it's a good plan.

Although getting out off the main land would seem like the most logical decision to her, it's also the quickest way for them to get shot down should they be caught by whoever had infiltrated MI6.

Katherine just nods once in agreement before Elijah's straightening, glancing down at his hand held device before signalling Klaus to move into place.

Part of her training before she was allowed overseas to help US forces in Iraq was to learn how to parachute safely out of a plane. It wasn't her favourite thing in the world to do (heights weren't really her thing), but she's glad in this moment that she went through the training.

She's long recognised that espionage came with a short life expectancy and a penchant for doing insane shit. High speed car chases, shootouts, and scaling buildings. And she was fine with that, really, she'd long since accepted it.

But jumping out of a plane was another level of crazy entirely. In fact, it was firmly on her list of things that she tried to steer clear of as much as possible.

She can only imagine how mortifying it would have been to have to be strapped to Klaus, or even worse, Kol's chest as they both jumped from the plane.

She snaps her helmet and her night vision goggles into place, tightening the chin strap as the vision array lights up. A greenish tint falls over her surroundings, and the others are bright blazes of light in her vision.

She moves to stand next to Klaus as she takes a deep breath in. Klaus glances at her, hand gentle on her arm.

"You going to be okay?" He yells above the tempest, the howling of the wind.

She just nods as a way of reply as Elijah taps his brother twice on the shoulder, apparently the jump signal, if the way Klaus throws himself out of the plane is any indication.

They've all been outfitted with GPS trackers, so they can find each other in case one of them is blown off course. It's a small comfort, as Elijah taps her on the shoulder, before she's taking a deep breath and flinging herself into open air.

It's the strangest sensation, free falling through the sky. You feel the unerring press of gravity, pushing you down towards the Earth, and you're placing your trust in what is essentially a reinforced square of fabric that will slow your descent.

Her headset shows the speed of descent, how long she has until she hits the ground, and where the safe zone is to pull the cord. Pull too soon, and you run the risk of being sucked back into the engine, or being blown off course. Pull too late, and gravity and velocity catch up to you.

At best, you shatter most of the bones in your legs, at worst you die.

And people actually enjoyed doing this sort of stuff for _fun._

Her headset beeps in warning and she feels around for the two ripcords on her chest, getting ready to pull as hard as she can. It took a fair amount of force, but she was strong enough to do it, otherwise she would have been jumping with Klaus or Kol.

She can see the faraway dot of Klaus, and she knows that if she looks up she'll probably see Elijah and Katherine and Kol all drifting through the air behind her.

She waits until the headset beeps again, and she confirms she's in the safe zone before she pulls the cord.

The jolt on her body is unbelievable, and every muscle in her body screams with protest at the sudden arrest of force to try and reverse gravity. But to her great relief, the chute unfurls above her head and that strange sense of weightlessness takes over.

This is the part she enjoys. It's the closest she'll ever come to physically flying, suspended only by a parachute as she hovers over the world. Mind you, it's not like she can see much in the pitch black, but it's still a pretty awesome feeling.

She eyes off the coordinates of the landing site in her headset, angling herself towards the ground, shifting in direction slightly.

The ground is coming up far faster than she thought it would, and she tries to avoid gritting her teeth together, instead bending her knees slightly in preparation for landing.

The ground rushes up to meet her feet, and she can feel the jolt through her entire body as she lands.

It's not a gentle landing, as she's pushed to her knees, grits her teeth as she's yanked along the ground for a bit, the raw, scraped sensation in her knees quickly making themselves apparent.

Klaus pulls her to her feet as she shrugs out of her harness, hitting a button to detach the chute from her body. Chutes of this calibre are generally one use only, just in case they run the risk of something going wrong on a future jump. She should feel bad about leaving it behind considering how much they cost to make, but right now she just wants to find out what the hell they're going to be doing next.

She hears Katherine land behind her, probably much more graceful than her own given how much experience she has with this. She flips the visor of her helmet up and pulls a torch from her vest, clicking it on and shining it around the rest of the group.

"Everyone okay?" Elijah calls softly, as he lands, Kol getting to his feet with a nod. She searches through the darkness for Katherine, even as the other woman appears suddenly.

"We're fine. We should get moving. Someone would have clocked us coming in." Katherine leaves her chute behind, falling into step beside Elijah.

"Are you going to tell us where we are?" She has to run to catch up with the two of them, Klaus and Kol trailing behind.

"I would have thought you'd have put two and two together by now Caroline. We're in the Brecon Beacon's." Elijah replies with a small smile.

She sucks in a breath, things starting to slowly fall into place now.

The Brecon Beacons weren't just a popular and picturesque mountain range. They were also home to the SAS training camps, legendary for just how tough it was to qualify as a Special Forces commando.

She thought that Navy Seal training in the USA was a bitch, but the British SAS were on another level entirely. As recently as 2013 two candidates had died trying to complete one of the many miles long marches that was required to pass. It had been dehydration that got them in the end.

SAS training had a 2% pass rate. Meaning that the 100 or so people you started your training with? Only 2 of them would make it through to the end and earn the legendary green beret.

"So how do you propose finding whoever it is that's agreed to help us?"

Elijah just chuckles as he glances down at his hand held GPS device.

"Oh they haven't agreed to help us. Yet. And I think you'll find that they'll find us before we find them."

As if Elijah's words were some sort of cue, about half a dozen men materialise out of the darkness surrounding them.

And all of them are carrying weapons.

* * *

"Elijah. This is unexpected." The man pronounces in a crisp British accent, lowering his weapons and gesturing for his men to do the same. "When we got word of some rogue parachutists we were worried."

"I'm sorry to be the cause of alarm Sergeant Rosza. Think of it as a rather effective training exercise. I believe you're acquainted with my brothers, Niklaus and Kol."

Sergeant Rosza nods in the direction of Kol and Klaus, before his gaze is landing on her and Katherine.

"And these two?" He asks curiously, gaze lingering on her for a moment before recognition dawns when it moves onto Katherine.

"Agents Petrova and Forbes from the CIA."

"The Black Widow." Sergeant Rosza man replies in awe. "I've heard stories."

Katherine raises an eyebrow.

"I prefer Agent Petrova." She replies stiffly as the Sergeant shifts uncomfortably before them.

"Of course, my apologies. You're both very welcome here."

A sharp hand gesture from the Sergeant heralds the arrival of an open topped Jeep, which screeches to a halt in front of them. They all pile into the tray, Sergeant Rosza rapping his knuckles against the cabin window.

A second vehicle arrives to pick up his men.

The ride is mostly silent, Klaus sitting cross armed opposite her, a calm gaze taking in his surroundings carefully. Kol is inspecting the laptop strapped to him, making sure that it survived the jump.

Katherine and Elijah have their heads bent together, no doubt planning out their next move.

It doesn't take long before the Jeep is cresting a hill, the lights of the base before them suddenly becoming visible.

The Jeep draws to a gentle halt in front of a non descript building, and Klaus, Kol, and Katherine leap down from the tray, staring at their surroundings warily.

Elijah is quick to follow, gesturing for them all to follow him as he leads them towards some sleeping quarters.

She takes, two, limping steps before a hand grips her gently by the upper arm, steering her away from the rest of their rag tag group.

Klaus falls into step beside her, leading her to a completely different building, no doubt an infirmary of sorts.

"Klaus, I'm fine." She insists, digging her heels in as he stops, hand falling away from her arm.

"After that landing, you're not fine. Come on, I'll patch you up. It'll only take a few minutes and then we can both be on our way."

Although being alone with him in a darkened room is the last thing she wants right now, she can't help but see the logic in his thinking. Her knees were probably scraped to all hell, and they'd heal quicker if they were properly looked at.

The infirmary that Klaus leads her into to is surprisingly high tech given they're in the middle of nowhere, and she can't help but start in surprise as Klaus grips her by the waist and lifts her gently on to the bed that takes up most of the room.

It's strange to watch him, so business like as he fetches exactly what he'll need, no more, no less. He seats himself on a rolling stool, depositing his supplies into a steel tray before lifting one of her legs gently and bracing her boot against his thigh. It's with quick, efficient movements that he rolls up the leg of her combat pants, revealing her torn up knee as she hisses with pain.

"Sorry." Klaus apologises with a gentle smile, ripping open an antiseptic wipe before quickly cleaning the area. The stinging is ridiculous, and she grits her teeth against the pain as Klaus takes a gauze square and sticks it over the worst of the scrapes. "You got yourself good."

"I don't particularly enjoy throwing myself out of aeroplanes. In fact, I do my best to avoid it if I can." She replies dryly as Klaus glances at her in surprise.

"You're kidding? Apart from the landing you were an absolute natural."

"Don't do that." She sighs, pushing her hair away from her face.

Klaus looks genuinely confused as he rolls her pants back down, taking her other boot and returning it to his thigh.

"Do what?"

"Do that thing where you pretend you care about me, and you just shower compliments on me." She points out as he repeats the same process on her other knee.

She's braced her hands behind her now, staring at the ceiling as Klaus does his best to patch up her knee with the limited supplies that he has.

"I'm guessing." Klaus begins evenly as he tucks her pants back into her boots. "That you didn't receive the note I left you. It's the only logical explanation I can think of for why you're acting this way towards me."

She stares at him uncertainly, not sure if he's telling the truth or if he's lying through his teeth.

"What note?" She asks carefully, blinking at him in surprise as he rolls backwards a short distance, getting to his feet, turning to wash his hands in the metal sink.

"The note that said that I wanted to see you again after the weekend we shared together." Klaus finally replies, turning and stalking towards her. He's stepping between her legs before she can even react, looming over her, gaze burning into her.

"I…" She hesitates as his hand cups her cheek, palm warm. "I didn't get the note. I thought you'd just ghosted, that you'd had your fill and decided that I was just another notch in your belt."

"Caroline." Klaus gazes down at her seriously. "I would _never_ think that of you."

And then his lips are covering hers, and she's got her hands anchored against his shoulders as they embrace.

The chemistry, that crackling, intangible thing, suddenly and inexplicably reignites between them, the fire scorching through her veins from the outside in, her heart racing as he nips at her neck.

She wants to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation, of the fact that the whole thing had just been a very simple misunderstanding between the two of them. That this whole thing could have been resolved years ago, if only she'd gotten that note.

"I thought you hated me." Klaus murmurs, finally pulling back from her, giving her a chance to breathe, get her thoughts in order.

"I was hurt." She whispers into the air between them. "You were amazing and I thought I'd been used. I'm sorry, for hurting you."

"It's okay." Klaus replies, kissing her very gently once on the lips. "You don't have to apologise."

A sharp rapping of knuckles against the infirmary door has them springing apart, countless unspoken words hanging in the air between them as Katherine pokes her head around the door.

"I got worried when I saw you'd disappeared. You okay?" Katherine's gaze lands on Klaus, lips twisting unpleasantly.

"I'm fine. Klaus was just patching me up."

She holds Katherine's knowing stare, not flinching under the intensity of her gaze.

"Alright then." Katherine finally says. I'm going to get some sleep, we can figure out the game plan tomorrow morning. You coming?"

It takes everything in her not to look back at Klaus as she follows Katherine out the door.

* * *

 **AN: Here I am. It's been a busy few months, what with house moves and promotions and the sort. I hope you enjoy this (long awaited) update.**

 **Who would have thought that the very idea of Kol quoting Mean Girls in the most ridiculous scenario possible would have inspired this entire chapter?**

 **xx**


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